True Colors
by TalesOfSpike
Summary: COMPLETE See how the ongoing consequences of Spike's spellcasting in SWBD work out.
1. Leap of Faith Ch 1

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

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Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

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Distribution: Currently here and at The Crypt. Use http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm to access the latest updates section where you'll find a direct link to the most recent chapter, or http://crypt.fontsofwisdom.net to access the main site. All the chapters will be posted at the Crypt BEFORE they go up on ff.net. This is so that (for the relevant chapters) I can refer adult readers to the unedited version. 

Since ff.net has _conveniently_ withdrawn their guidelines stating what exactly constitutes an R rating and what is NC-17 and I have no wish to have to re-post about forty chapters worth of stories losing all the reviews, you will find that the R rated version is probably going to err on the side of caution. For example, chapter 1.02 is probably borderline between the two ratings in its unedited form but will most likely be cut a fair bit to play safe on ff.net.

Anyone out there who has their own site and would be interested in posting the story (especially the unedited version) please get in touch at the same e-mail address as for feedback. As long as I know where it's going, you can pretty much guarantee I'll be okay with it. I'll probably even give your site a plug. 

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Notes: This follows on from where my fic "Spike's Will Be Done" left off and is pretty much a of a sequel to that story, so things will only really make sense if you read it first. I did try to summarise it, but it just kept getting longer and longer, so all I can say is unless you're only interested in the smut go read the other story first.

For those of you who are wondering why the spelling of colour in the title doesn't agree with standard UK usage like the rest of the story, it's because it refers to the song by Cyndi Lauper, who of course spelled it the American way in her lyrics.

Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at http://www.sunnydale-tales.com the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Hopefully, I'll have time to finish off Grosse Pointe Buff before I get too caught up in continuing this, though I must admit I prefer writing this, I think. Sorry to anyone who has been waiting for the next chapter of GPB while I've been trying to fix this, but since I currently have thirty plus chapters of this archived, I thought it deserved that extra bit of attention to make it readable.

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SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

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CHAPTER 1.01

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Sunday Night

Spike moved around the pool table cue in hand, checking for a viable shot. He absently chalked the end of his cue and then leant over to go for a cushion shot into the centre pocket, speaking as he cued.

"…Couldn't give a toss what gets said when it's the two of us…" Straight shot into the two touching balls lined up for the corner pocket with a bit of bottom to run back to take the second. "It's not like you haven't been mouthing off as long as I've known you. Truth be known, I quite enjoy a bit of bickering now and again. As long as you don't start about Buffy and me." Clear up that second ball follow through off the top cushion and down to the other end of the table.

"I know I don't deserve her and I'm not going to say I do. I understand her and I think I can make her happy and I'll shift heaven and hell to do it if I have to." Edge that one into the bottom corner off his and get the right amount of side on it the cue ball will just trickle into the other pocket without it being too obvious. "Foul stroke. Two shots to you. Point is there's nothing you can say on that subject that I'm going to listen to. Bringing it up isn't going to cause anything but problems. I'm not asking for your approval, and finally neither is she." Spike pulled a cigarette from his pack, frowning at how few were left, before lighting it.

"Other than that, when it's just us blokes, say whatever the hell you want and use whatever nicknames you want, but in front of your missus and in front of Buffy we either talk civil-like or we stay shut the hell up. I don't want Anya upset and I _won't_ _have_ Buffy upset." Bloody whelp was going to win now, bugger. Oh well, at least there wasn't money involved this time and it might make him a bit too cocky next time there was.

"Agreed?" Spike asked.

"Agreed, Fangless." The black ball rolled into the pocket. Two of Spike's balls still left on the table.

"Best head back over and play nice with the womenfolk then, Whelp. It might be an idea if you 'n' the slayer sort out your differences on the dance-floor. I don't want her frettin' over it when it can all be sorted out if you talk to each other for five minutes. I know I've got a little proposition I need to talk to your better half about anyway."

Spike walked off ahead of Xander who was left wondering what the vampire was up to now. When they got back to their table Willow and Buffy were up on the dance-floor and Dawn had moved to sit between Tara and Anya.

"How about a dance, pet?" Spike asked Anya. "About time I claimed a kiss from the bride and you can dish the dirt on how married life is treating you." He led her over to a corner of the floor away from all of the others. The pair chatted amicably enough for the duration of a couple of songs or so it seemed, though if anyone was to observe really closely they might have realised that Spike had been keen to assure that none of the other Scoobies could overhear. After some time the two came back to the table and Spike gave Anya a kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to Dawn to watch Xander and Buffy. The vampire savoured being able to watch his beloved openly and without having to disguise his feelings.

She had such a frail graceful beauty, hiding a core of inner strength. Her long ebony skirt rippled and flowed as she moved, giving subtle hints as to the figure underneath in a way that Spike found far more alluring than either a mini-skirt or her more customary tight pants. Her crimson halter-top was made of satin and offered a tactile invitation to explore both the areas it concealed and the soft flesh of her back that it exposed. Her hair was held back on either side by a small silver clip so that her face was framed by wispy golden tendrils. It almost reached her shoulders again and bounced and shone as she moved to the music. A black choker adorned with a crimson rose circled her neck. It attracted his attention to that area as it would that of any vampire, yet at the same time, it created a barrier where normally there would be none. It drew attention from the scars left on her by his grand-sire and Dracula, but in doing so, he was reminded of their existence. 

He was aware of every aspect of her appearance, yet it was her face that commanded the bulk of his attention. He watched carefully for any sign that Xander might have upset her, ready to rescue her at a second's notice. At first, things seemed a little uncomfortable between the pair but minutes later, when she became aware of Spike's gaze she rewarded him with a toothpaste commercial smile. For a fraction of a second he instinctively answered like with like until the Big Bad regained control and turned it into a leering smirk, which in turn almost made her laugh.

Of late, in repose her face had seemed gaunt, her eyes too big. Yet when she smiled like that the balance of her features was restored, and she was once again the beauty he fell in love with.

He was suddenly distracted from his observation of his girlfriend, (finally he could say she was his girlfriend) by a sharp pain in his arm. He turned to face Dawn.

"Bloody hell. What was that for, 'Bit?"

"When you're quite finished ogling my sister, and you've wiped the drool off your chin, you might notice that Tara and Willow have been trying to get your attention to say goodnight for the last ten minutes."

Spike's hand was halfway to his lips before he paused. "I do not drool." He turned to where Tara and Willow waited with their coats on.

"I thought we'd all be walking back together?" his tone turned his statement into a question.

"We thought we'd stay at the dorm," Tara replied. "But at least one of us will be around to watch Dawn after school tomorrow."

"Okay then, pet." He hugged both the women in turn. "Take care of yourselves."

He looked around for a clock; surprised to see it was already quarter to eleven. "Great, looks like you're going to miss your curfew, Niblet."

"Yeah, but Buffy's with me so it doesn't count."

"There might not be anyone sitting at home wondering where you are, but you've still got to get up for school in the morning, love. Best get your coat."

Spike had just shrugged into his own coat when a petite pair of arms circled his waist from behind. He turned to give Buffy a gentle kiss. "Figured it was time we got Bit home and into bed or she won't make it to school in the morning."

Buffy looked at the clock. "I guess that bit of the night where you hid on the balcony while the cops did the statement thing took longer than any of us realised." She released her grip on Spike to reach for her coat, but he got there first and held it out ready for her to put it on. Instead of letting her shrug her shoulders into position she felt his hands gently run from her collar down over the top of the lapels laying the soft hide gently in place. His cheek brushed against hers in a touch so subtle she almost thought she dreamt it except for the cool tingling sensation that affected her skin for minutes afterward.

Spike watched as his two girls said their good-byes to the newlyweds, pleased for Buffy's sake to note that she must have got things pretty well patched up with the boy if he was getting a hug. Then he moved forward, enfolding Anya in his arms.

"I hope you're going to be very happy, pet. You deserve it. I'll see you some time tomorrow."

He moved across to Xander and held his hand out toward him. _'Go on, Whelp, take it or we both end up looking like a couple of prats.'_ For a couple of seconds the other man stared at the proffered hand as if unsure as to what was expected, before he grasped it in a brief handshake.

"Take good care of her. You're a lucky man." Spike's words held the vaguest of threats, which was reciprocated in the groom's reply.

"You too, Spike." Xander nodded in Buffy's direction and his voice dropped almost to a whisper. "You too…"

* * * * *

Spike and his slayer strolled hand in hand towards Revello Drive. Dawn teetered along holding on to his other arm and cursing the vanity that had made her wear her new high heels. Now aside from having sore feet, the longer the walk home took, the more certain she was of having blisters by the time she got back.

Buffy smiled across at the vampire. "Did I hear you making a date with Anya? She's a newly married woman, you know and I don't know what your arrangement with Dru was but I expect you to be a one woman vamp…"

"Green suits you, pet." Spike grinned back at her. "…But if you want the sordid details about my sex-life you're going to have to ask again when there isn't a minor with us." 

"I hope it's just the Dru part of that question that you're including under that definition."

"You already know the answer to that one or you would have been asking about it before you agreed to a date… I told Anya I'd drop in at the shop tomorrow to take back what's left of the stuff I liberated the other night and pay her for the rest." _'…And to make a little down payment on something else.'_

"So you don't think that I would just happen to trust you?"

"Have you ever given me any reason to think you might?" asked the vampire.

"No. I suppose not, but I've got to start practising sometime."

"Too right, slayer." Spike released his grip on Buffy's hand and turned to lead her sister over to a waist-high wall. 

"When are you going to start wearing shoes you can walk in, Bit?" he asked the rhetorical question. Picking her up by the waist, he stood her on top of the wall and turned round to allow her to climb on his shoulders. The movements smooth and practised as if it was almost routine, which it had been last summer. Once the younger sister was settled he lit a cigarette before he took Buffy's hand in his own again.

"So do you make a habit of carrying my sister home after a night out?" Buffy queried.

"Now and again, when she can't walk and there aren't any witnesses," was his response.

"I can see," said the petite blonde.

"Yeah, but you already know that I can act like a right soft poof. If the likes of Harris saw this I'd have to kill 'im. Besides, this way we might get home before midnight." He ran his tongue along his upper teeth, his scarred eyebrow slightly raised.

Buffy flushed, feeling a familiar tingling sensation in the region of her abdomen and quickened her pace towards home. "Well, it is a school night. The quicker we get Dawn home the better."

"Yeah, right," came an unconvinced voice from high above her head. "I'm fifteen, not deaf, dumb and blind."

* * * * *

Spike collapsed on the sofa and turned the TV on, flicking through the channels until he found one that was showing the news. Buffy was through in the kitchen making hot chocolate and Niblet was upstairs getting showered and changed into her pyjamas. He was there, in their home, accepted. The only thing that could have made it any better would be if Joyce were still alive, but then it would be extremely doubtful that he'd be allowed to stay overnight in Buffy's room. Even Cardboard only stayed the night when Joyce was in the hospital and presumably didn't know he was there.

The main news program finished and was followed by a local news show. The nerds' capture actually made lead item. They were being charged with Katrina's murder as well as the bank robbery and the diamond theft. Spike was wondering how they had come to be charged with murder when the girl's death had been ruled as accidental, when the report revealed that one of the group had turned state's evidence against the other two, in hopes of lighter sentencing.

The report also stated that the bank had agreed to pay a finder's fee on that portion of the money that was recovered. The money was to be shared by a group of people who detained the bank robbers until police could arrive following a fight in a local nightclub.

"Buffy! Niblet! I think you might want to hear this…"

The two girls came running through to the living room, Dawn's hair still wet from the shower as the chat between anchorman and the reporter at the local jail continued. Once Buffy was safely installed in front of the TV Spike went through to the kitchen to take over making the drinks.

Do we have any word yet as to the identity of the people to receive the reward? 

_Well, word has it that witnesses on the scene spoke of the group being detained by two young men and two young girls, but one of the men appears to have left the scene before police were able to take a statement from him. The bank has stated that the reward will be split between the remaining people if the man does not come forward within the next seven days. As yet no names have been given out._

Now, the reward is based on the amount of cash recovered. Has there been any word as to how much we could expect that to be? 

_There are some unconfirmed rumours around that as much as half to two thirds of the money stolen may be returned. This is especially hopeful in light of the fact that one of the group has turned state's evidence, as disclosing the whereabouts of the remaining money would no doubt be part of any deal that has been made. If we assume that say half of the $160,000 which was stolen is recovered, then a ten percent finders' fee would come to about $8,000…_

"So, are you going to give yourself up and claim your reward?" Dawn asked Spike as he brought the drinks through.

"Nah, no point. I'd just end up giving the money to you two anyway and it would start all sorts of questions about green cards and visas and all that crap. I'll steer clear."

"What _are_ you going to do for money now that you've promised to be a good boy?" Buffy asked.

"I never promised to be good, pet. Just that I wouldn't nick stuff anymore. And that depends on you."

"If you think you're going to turn pimp and put me on the streets you can forget it," she teased.

"Me neither," Dawn added.

"Well, what do you think of how that lot got those orbs? Assuming they didn't have to kill anyone to get them and that even if they used to belong to someone, they were long dead… say it was just a matter of digging them up? Is there anything about it that violently offends your moral code?"

Buffy's head tilted slightly to one side as she considered the matter. "No, if nobody was harmed and they didn't really belong to anyone… I don't suppose there's any harm. Why?"

"'Cause that means you can't complain about me living off the stuff I found along with the Gem of Amara." 

Buffy cast her mind back to the room filled with golden jewellery. "You sneaky little vamp. No wonder you said you could get money."

"Yeah, well. It's not like I didn't offer and if knowing where it comes from makes a difference you can take it that I'm offering again."

"And you can take it that I'm refusing again at least until I'm totally desperate or we've made some sort of formal commitment."

"How about, if this reward doesn't give you enough leeway to get out of that burger joint and get a decent job, then you let me make you an interest-free loan that you can pay back as and when?" Spike gave her his best puppy-dog look. "Please, love, I hate the idea of you working in that place. It's killing you a bit at a time. There's got to be other options."

"We'll see. If the reward doesn't cover it I might take you up on it. But I want to be sure I'm not cleaning you out. It would be like me selling the house and then living off the proceeds. It's destroying what you do have in the way of capital."

The vampire sighed and pressed his argument further. "Okay, time to come clean. The Amara stuff is kind of like my spare change. Most of what I've got is tied up in investments and stocks and shares. The bulk of it is basically legit. When I died it wasn't officially reported. I was able to sell the house and most of the valuables and convert them into investments, which have since multiplied. On occasion I've added to the accounts by not so legitimate means but the overwhelming bulk of it is honestly come by. With enough warning, I could pay the mortgage and the bills for this house and put the two of you through college and still not touch the capital, if you would let me."

"If you were never officially reported dead, then how did you end up getting buried? You wouldn't be buried unless someone found the body and surely even then they would try to have it identified."

"Or unless it amused grandpa dearest to stick me in a coffin and bury it just so he could see my face when I finally crawled out…"

"You mean Angel…"

"Yes, pet, or if you prefer, Angelus. Look, just say you'll let me give you enough to get you out of that bloody place and let's change the subject."

"You didn't exactly look that wealthy in that dream you had. You looked more like the poor relation."

"Yeah, well, my grandfather made some bad investments. Ended up selling half the land that originally went with the house to cover his debts. After that the income from the estates barely covered the upkeep on the house. There wasn't a lot left over. Father did his best to keep things afloat, but even if I hadn't been turned I'd probably have had to sell the house eventually and get something a bit smaller. The house itself was still worth a fair bit.

Like you say I didn't exactly look wealthy so Angelus never suspected that I had money hidden away or he'd have spent it all on frilly shirts and hair ribbons." 

"Okay, I will accept a _loan_ so that I can get out of that place, _if_ I need more than my share of the reward." 

"Thank you, pet."

At this point, Dawn who had been quietly listening piped up. "So does this mean that I can keep my share?"

"Yeah, you can keep it… in your college fund," replied her sister. "And get your hair dry, and go to bed or you'll never get to school in the morning."

"Whatever. Don't bother getting up tomorrow morning. I'll get myself ready for Xander coming round… if you can give me my lunch money now?" Spike fumbled in the pocket of his duster and came out with a ten-dollar bill. Dawn snatched it from his hand and headed upstairs calling her thanks as she left.

Buffy moved to the couch, snuggling in against his side and taking the remote from his hand to flip channels. Finally, she switched the TV off having failed to find anything to hold her attention, other than the vamp at her side. 

"It's going to be a while before Dawn gets off to sleep… maybe we could go sit on the porch for a bit… if you want?" Buffy suggested nervously.

"We could." A slow smile came to his face, his deep blue eyes holding her own. His hand came up gently stroking her cheek pushing a few stray hairs aside before his cool lips claimed hers with a soft sweep. His fingers brushed a trail over her earlobe and around to the back of her neck where they kneaded gently at her tense muscles. "…Or I might have a better idea." He kissed her again and her hands moved to his shoulder and into the short curls at the back of his head deepening the kiss. She wasn't even aware of his other arm slipping beneath her knees until he had already carried her halfway up the stairs.

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To be continued in chapter 1.02


	2. Leap of Faith Ch 2

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk. 

****

Distribution: Currently here and at The Crypt. Use http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm to access the latest updates section where you'll find a direct link to the most recent chapter, or http://crypt.fontsofwisdom.net to access the main Buffy section of the site. All the chapters will be posted at the Crypt BEFORE they go up on ff.net. This is so that (for the relevant chapters, like this one) I can refer adult readers to the unedited version.

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Note: This is the R rated version of this chapter, and it has been slightly cut and subtly (I hope) altered to fall within this category as opposed to NC-17. If you are of age, I'd recommend the full version, but feel free to use the 'Back' button on your browser to return here and leave a review.

Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Special thanks also to Vision, Jem, spikesevilsoul666 for their kind reviews on the first chapter and to AnneRose for her e-mail.

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SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

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CHAPTER 1.02

Pulling away slightly Buffy hissed at him. "Spike, no, Dawn's still awake. We can't…"

"Shhh, pet. It's fine. I'm not planning anything noisy, not just yet anyway." She looked up into his face, her confusion evident as he used a booted foot to push open the bathroom door. He sat her down on the edge of the bathtub and moved to lock both doors, ensuring their privacy.

"Just what exactly are you planning?" she asked. Spike shrugged out of his duster, hanging it up on the back of the door. He crossed the room and brushed against Buffy as he turned on the bath taps. Then he took a seat next to her and kissed her once more before answering.

"Plan on soaking you in a nice hot bath until you finally relax, love. It's been a long day and I know you're nervous about me staying here but I promise I won't make you regret it." He dipped long fingers into the water pooling in the bottom of the tub swirling it slightly before adjusting the flow from the cold water tap. He scanned the selection of oils, salts and potions before selecting a camellia scented bubble bath, which he added to the water. Then he claimed one last tender kiss before moving to kneel at her feet.

His movements were slow, gentle and precise. He unzipped and removed her boots and then lifted the hem of her skirt, letting it rest across her thighs. His fingers teased the elasticated top of her hold-up stocking until he was able to roll the delicate material down the length of her leg, the soft touch of his lips following where his hands had been. He slid the flimsy black wisp from her foot and then began all over again with her other leg. Then he reached up and drew her hemline back into place, the fabric brushing against her sensitised skin all the way from thigh to shin.

Buffy found herself unable to take her eyes from the vision that knelt before her. Her fallen angel, perfect of form and redeemed by love. His face glowed with the intensity of the emotions shown in his eyes. Devotion, compassion, desire, adoration but most of all love. It was the look in those eyes when they met hers and not the skilled manipulation of expert hands that made her knees tremble.

He reached over and turned off the faucets, checking the bath's temperature one last time and she wondered if she was in some sort of dream or if her attention had been entirely focused on him, that the bath had filled so apparently quickly. He took her hands in his and pulled her up to her feet whilst he remained kneeling in front of her, and when she wobbled slightly he reached his right arm around her thighs to steady her. His left hand deftly loosened the bow securing the skirt's waistband and then he placed a hand at either side to pull it down her thighs in one languorous movement until it fell into an ebony ripple around her feet, exposing her black lace thong.

His hands returned to her hips and she responded to his gentle pressure by returning to her seat on the rim of the tub. He parted her knees and shuffled closer, his silk shirt brushing against the inside of her thighs, making her clamp her teeth on her lower lip to keep from moaning. Her arms snaked around him, elbows resting on his shoulders, small fingers twining into the gelled stiffness of his hair as she bent forward to place her lips to the top of his head.

Behind her, his agile fingers unbound the ribbon which criss-crossed her back holding her halter in place, freeing it from the loops that acted as its guide. They smoothed their way down her arms until he could hold her own, pulling them from his hair. He finally stood to remove her crimson top, which now hung loose around her neck, and her choker. He pulled her to her feet once more, this time clasping her against the length of his body for several seconds or minutes, his chin resting atop her head.

Then he knelt at her feet once more, kissing her between her breasts and moving down to her navel. He looked up; catching her gaze and holding it as he slowly removed the last of her clothing. He slid up her body and worked his way along her jaw to her earlobe nibbling gently with blunt teeth, causing her to release an almost silent gasp of air.

He took a small step back, just enough to let him loosen the buttons on his own shirt, but as he moved to undo the second one her tiny manicured hands brushed his own away to continue the job themselves. Taking her cue from him, her movements were unhurried and when his shirt hung loose on his shoulders she moved her lips down the centre of his chest stopping only when she reached his belt buckle, before turning her attention to his shirt cuffs. She pushed the soft fabric from his shoulders letting it drift to the floor. Her fingers traced the lines of his upper body where groups of muscles met, roaming across his chest, stomach, arms and back. She memorised the flawless shape of his body in a way she had never allowed herself to do before, always rushing, pushing him to fuck her hard and fast. Hiding under sheets and rugs or running as soon as it was over.

Her hands moved to his belt buckle, but before she could get it undone he pulled them away, kissing the each palm before releasing them. Whilst she was still wondering what she had done wrong he picked her up, his right arm behind her back and his left behind her knees and lowered her into the scented water. He picked up the clothes strewn on the floor and moved them to the far side of the room where they were less likely to get splashed, before sitting down on the edge of the bath to remove his boots and socks. Buffy watched and waited wondering what his next move would be.

He scooted along the edge of the tub until he was perched on the corner behind her left shoulder, leaning over to gain access to the neck muscles he had begun to massage in the living room what seemed like hours ago. Buffy felt as if her bones had melted, soaked away in the warm water and his slow firm manipulation. He worked his way outward, undoing knots in her shoulders that she hadn't been aware of, then moving nimbly down her spine as she leant forward against her raised knees.

Picking up a soft wash cloth he bathed her back and her arms, before drawing her back to rest against the slope of the tub. She expected him to move on to wash her breasts and stomach, but instead he slid to the opposite end of the bath. He reached down to draw a foot from the water resting it on his denim clad thigh as he worked the muscles in it into a relaxed submission. Talented fingers explored her calf and then higher, and she belatedly realised that his every action was designed to keep her balanced on a knife edge between relaxation and desire. Letting that leg slip back under the water he picked up her other foot and began all over again.

Only once he had kneaded all her muscles loose, did he pick up the wash cloth again and smooth it along the golden flesh of her legs. He took the showerhead from its holder and turned the taps adjusting the flow through it until he was happy with the temperature. Then he beckoned Buffy to move towards him. She slid forward, bringing her knees up and leaning over them. He unclipped the slides from her hair and raised her chin with his hand, tilting her head back over so that when he wet her hair he could do so without getting water in her eyes. 

He turned the taps off again and just as she opened her eyes he kissed her upraised mouth. He reached for her shampoo squirting some into the palm of his hand. For a second she wondered how he had known which was hers before she remembered his heightened sense of smell. Of course he could tell which was hers. She watched as he rubbed his palms together spreading the liquid equally before he started to work it into her hair. Smooth white hands with elegant fingers. She remembered years ago with Willow discussing how fixation on insignificant details was a major crush sign. With Spike, there seemed to be almost no detail she hasn't fixated on at some point. Those eyes, those blue, blue eyes that lay bare his every feeling. The chiselled cheekbones that were wholly masculine yet still failed to make his face handsome rather than stunningly beautiful. The smirk, infuriating at times, irresistible at others and the scarred eyebrow, often raised in her direction that begged to be kissed or licked or traced with her fingers. His arms, his chest, his stomach… Her gaze fell below the waistline of his jeans. His ass, other things… It seemed unfair that he should be so perfect.

Then she remembered a story her mother once told her. Something about Indian rugs or tapestries and how the weavers would include one deliberate flaw somewhere in the design so that its perfection would not attract evil spirits. Somehow that seemed to explain the irony that was Spike, the soulless demon with the body and heart of an angel. William had just been too perfect to escape Dru's notice.

He didn't just shampoo her hair. His fingers massaged her scalp so soothingly she let out a gentle moan when he finished and reached for the shower spray once more, rinsing out the lather. She shifted back in the water, taking care not to splash, until she was supported once more by the back of the tub. Her eyes travelled up and down what she could now see of the vampire's body, the heat building within her beginning to rival that of the cooling bath water.

She could almost have predicted his response. The delicious eyebrow went up and his comment was exactly what she expected. Save that, "like what you see, pet?" was voiced in a husky whisper instead of his normal half-sneering tone, she could have written his script.

This time, instead of embarrassment or denial she replied with shy honesty. "Well, duh. What's not to like?" Her smile was teasing, but slightly unsure. She wondered belatedly if his sensitive ego would react unfavourably to being teased. She had hurt him badly and deliberately in the recent past. Now, she worried that those past sins would catch up with her allowing innocent remarks to be misconstrued. "You're beautiful." She wanted to say more, to let him know how the sight of him affected her. How she wished she had the talent of Michel Angelo to sculpt him as a new David, or let him live forever as a canvas masterpiece, but somehow those two words were all she could manage.

"So are you, my love, so are you."

"Will," she whispered sensitive to her sister's hopefully sleeping state. "I want you."

He smirked; his eyes alight with devilment. "I know."

Her exasperated gasp left her mouth open and he took full advantage. The kiss was deep but tender, passionate but without brutality and Buffy was quick to respond. Her hand moved to the back of his neck and she forced her fingers to hold him loosely instead of pulling him toward her since he was now balanced with both hands and the edge of one thigh on the rim of the bath, neither foot touching the floor. So far he had been true to his word about not making any noise and the last thing she wanted was to have to wait for her sister to go back to sleep. That meant dragging him in the tub with her, jeans and all, was out of the question, at least until Dawn left for school in the morning.

He seemed to know the exact moment she needed to catch her breath and drew back. Pulling a bath-sheet from the rail, he laid it out flat on the floor before scooping her from the tub and placing her on it. He knelt beside her and pulled the edges of the towel over, wrapping her in soft Egyptian cotton. Scooping her into his arms, he paused only to let her unlock the door and to listen for Dawn's somnolent life-signs before he carried her through to her room depositing her in the centre of her bed. He crawled onto the mattress beside her with the grace of a predatory jungle cat, his gaze held by the way her damp flesh tautened into goose bumps in the cooler air, her nipples tightening into dusky pink peaks that he could barely distinguish in the darkened room.

Buffy fumbled in the dark, finding the switch for her bedside light illuminating the room in a soft glow. The increased light level allowed him to take in the heavy grey blankets secured over all the windows as well as the fact that the room door still stood open.

"Bollocks," he muttered under his breath, but before he could scramble off the bed to remedy the omission the aforementioned parts of his anatomy were gripped through his jeans by a proprietary hand.

"Mine and everything that goes with them." Her grip wasn't unduly painful and fell well within Spike's definition of foreplay, but he certainly wasn't moving anywhere. It seemed his slayer had had enough teasing for one night. She gave him one last squeeze before turning her attention and both hands to his belt buckle.

"Only yours, Buffy, for as long as you want them," he purred into her ear before biting playfully at her lobe with blunt teeth. He lay down on his side propping his head on one hand so that he could watch his lover as she unfastened his jeans. 

Her hand explored the territory she had uncovered and when she paused Spike expected her to finish removing his jeans. Instead he had the air knocked out of his lungs as she pushed him over onto his back and straddled him, bringing their bodies into total union.

All the while she looked into his eyes and he returned her gaze. The second it happened she remembered the last time that she had seen that look on his face, a combination of lust, surprise, awe and totally unguarded love. The physical sensations triggering a flashback to that first time in the abandoned house. She felt him tense beneath her, his eyelids closing milliseconds too late to hide the pain and fear that swamped his cornflower blue eyes and she knew the same memory had been foremost in his mind.

She stilled. "Will, look at me." She spoke softly, her voice just above a whisper. "This time it's different. It's been a long time. I was impatient and I rushed things but this isn't just about sex any more. I care about you and I'm not going to throw your feelings back at you in the morning. Please don't be afraid to show how you feel." Her hand moved to cup his cheek, his eyes still closed. "Remember what I told you earlier. I love you. I'm not in this to take what I want and leave you hanging. I want to make you happy." Long, dark, damp eyelashes swept apart and his eyes searched hers for answers.

She brushed her lips against his in an almost chaste caress. "Spike, make love to me, please."

He raised his head slightly, running his tongue along her lower lip coaxing her to open her mouth When she did he drew his tongue against hers, tip against tip still far from the forceful evasion they often employed. His hands travelled down her flanks, one claiming her left hip the other hooking behind her right knee, holding it at his waist so that when he rolled them both over onto their sides her leg was hooked over his hip-bone.

Slowly, he flexed his hips until he built a steady rhythm. His hands moved to her breasts alternately stroking, holding and kneading them before tracing his thumbs around her aureoles. Finally he drew each into his mouth in turn to suckle and tease them between his blunt teeth, causing her to shudder as she matched the rhythm of his movements.

Gradually, as their movements became more fevered he could tell from the shivers running through her and her small moans and sighs that she was close. Pulling her face into his shoulder he bent his neck to position blunt teeth over her own.

"Door's still open, pet. Bite down," he whispered.

He squeezed her nipples tightly as he moved, sending her spinning over the edge. She longed to scream his name at the top of her voice. Instead she sank her teeth into his shoulder. That pain and the pulsing of her hot muscles around him brought him crashing after her, blunt teeth bruising her flesh but unlike hers failing to draw blood.

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 1.03


	3. Leap of Faith Ch 3

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk. 

****

Distribution: Currently here and at The Crypt. Use http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm to access the latest updates section where you'll find a direct link to the most recent chapter, or http://crypt.fontsofwisdom.net to access the Buffy section of the main site. All the chapters will be posted at the Crypt BEFORE they go up on ff.net. This is so that (for the relevant chapters like this one) I can refer adult readers to the unedited version.

****

Notes: This is the **heavily abridged** R rated version of this chapter (by reading this you've lost about a third of the length). To read the unedited version please access the story at The Crypt. If you do, it would still be nice if you used the 'Back' button on your browser to come back here and leave a review.

Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Special thanks also, to all of you who have taken the time and made the effort to review. I would name you all personally, but at the present time I don't have access to a computer. In fact, I didn't even post this chapter, my lovely beta MadRog did it for me so that you lovely people wouldn't be kept waiting for a week between instalments.

****

SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.03

Spike pulled Buffy in close, holding her as her tremors stilled to nothing, watching her as she pulled her head back to search his face.

"What's up, pet?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay…"

He smiled down at her. "I kinda thought the two of us together have always been nearer unbelievable than okay."

"Sp- Will, I'm serious. We've got quite a few memories between us and a lot of them… It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they could be better. There are going to be times when we're reminded of the bad things. As long as we can move past them we'll be okay but if there's a problem we need to deal with it. So… are you okay?"

He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "For a minute there it was like I was right back in that house, but this time I knew what was coming the morning after. It caught me by surprise, is all. I know things have changed. I mean, to judge by the window dressing you're not planning on sending me back to the crypt before sunrise. You've told Niblet and all your mates. S'just goin' to take a little while before I stop expecting everything to fall apart.

No..." he obviously struggled to find words to express his thoughts. "I know things are different but it'll be a while before I feel things are different. It'll take time for it to sink in that you aren't… that I'm really this lucky."

"Nice save. Promise I won't be too much of a bitch in the morning, though Dawn says I only turn human once I have my first mug of coffee, so no absolute guarantees."

"Wouldn't be half as interesting if you were all sweetness and light twenty four hours a day, pet."

"Or if you ever learnt the meaning of the word tact."

"Not much of a vamp thing. Nope, that's not true. Most vamps learn how to toady good and proper to their elders even if they don't bother with it the rest of the time. I guess it's just me."

"I suppose that would explain how well you and Angel get on… That's going to be a fun part of the Christmas card list this year." She smiled. "Dear Angel, Merry Christmas, Love Buffy and Spike. He'd be on his way here before the postman got clear of his street."

"He'll be on his way sooner than that, pet." Spike said, apparently unfazed.

"Hey, he's my ex. I think I should get to decide when you tell him."

His smirk returned at her response. "Unless you decide soon, I don't think it'll be either of us telling him."

"Where else is he going to hear about it from?"

"Well there's always the demon grapevine. Even if my name isn't specifically mentioned the fact that the slayer's taken up with another vamp'll eventually get as far as LA. Personally, I'd put bets on Harris though. It's just a matter of how long he takes to think of it."

"You think Xander would tell Angel we're together?" A frown was making its presence known on Buffy's face.

"I'd say it's more a question of whether he has the guts to pick up the phone and do it himself or whether he sends an anonymous note, but it might take a day or two before he comes up with the idea," Spike confirmed.

"What do you think Angel will do?"

"He'll probably turn up, try to speak to your mates and work out exactly what sort of thrall I have you under, or how I might have coerced you into letting me in your bed. Then as soon as he's convinced himself that it's his and Harris's opinions that count and that I've fooled everybody else, he'll set an ambush, try to get me on my own."

"Why do you think ambush?"

"It's the only way to be sure. You don't have a bicentennial by taking chances. A straight fight could go either way."

"Do you… Will he try to stake you?"

"He hasn't so far, but it probably depends on what your mates say. You've got to remember, he's known me for a hundred and twenty years. We lived together for twenty years and every day of those two decades I had to prove that I was bastard enough to belong with him and his women. He won't want to believe that I've changed. Depends whether your mates can convince him I'm not a threat to you. But on the bright side… Dru and Darla had a bit of a spree up in LA not so long ago and he didn't stake them."

"You must have heard wrong Darla died the year I came to Sunnydale."

"Yeah, and then a bunch of lawyers did some hocus-pocus and brought her back human and set her to torment the Poof into losing his soul. Except they brought her back with the same syphilitic heart condition the whore was originally dying from when she was turned. So Dru turned her again 'n' far as I know she's still around somewhere."

"He let them go?"

"After he set them on fire… yeah. But then he actually locked them in with the lawyers and he didn't know any of the others… he might be less lenient seein' as he's supposed to like you and how you wear his mark and he's a bit less fond of me than of Dru or Darla."

"How can you be so calm about it? He might kill you."

"Sufficient unto each day are the problems thereof, pet. I'm in the best fighting form I've ever been in what with patrollin' 'n' stuff. Other than that there's nothin' to be done. It's not as if the two of us fightin' is anythin' new."

"Unless we force the issue so we at least sort of know when he's coming. But what do you mean about wearing his mark? You make it sound like some sort of cattle brand or something," she had more than a hint of defiance in her tone.

"Yeah, well… You're shiverin', pet." He loosened his grip and pulled back from her, adjusting his jeans. "Get yourself under the covers and I'll get the door." He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers and kissed her brow before pushing off the bed to finally close the bedroom door. He picked up the damp towel from on top of the covers and spread it out over the wrought iron at the top of the bed.

Buffy pulled the covers back and crawled in, then lay on her side, watching Spike as he moved around the room. She waited until he was climbing into bed after removing his jeans before she reminded him of her question. "The mark?" 

Spike pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her before he replied. "The scars you have on your neck, give a warning, should we say, to any vamp that gets close enough to see them. The Master's is pretty much a non-issue what with him being gone. The other two basically tell us that Soul Boy claimed you as his property, but that Drac's made a later claim since those scars are fresher and overlay the Poof's. Assuming there's still a bit of the demon left in the old man, if he'd still been around when Drac made his appearance he would have had to defend his claim. It's kind of a dominance thing. Anyone who ignores a mark like that… it's like saying they're dominant to the one who made it in the first place." 

"So you being in my bed…"

"…Defies both of them, from their point of view anyway. Way I look at it, they both gave up whatever claim they might have had when they buggered off. A claim is just as much about undertaking to protect someone as it is about saying they belong to you."

"But, your point of view won't matter when Angel hears about us. He's going to see it as you trying to take what's his?"

"It's a direct challenge as far as the demon's concerned. The question's whether the man can or would want to keep the demon in check. Which we won't find out till he gets here."

"So if you've already basically asked for an ass-kicking why didn't you just put your mark over the top? You just passed up the ideal opportunity. Doesn't your demon want that top mark to be his?"

"Buffyyy…" Her name was almost a groan. "Yeah, it does. Every time I see those marks or sense them they remind me that you're not mine. That you're his, just like Dru. I'd like nothing better than to put my mark over theirs, but if I ever claim you it'll be as my mate not as some chattel. You don't belong to me. I'm not your master and I don't want to be. So until you're ready to call me your husband I'll live with their marks. Okay?"

"Very okay. But if you're right we still have a problem."

"Unless you're planning some sort of pre-emptive action, pet, it'll keep."

"What action?"

"Acting before anyone else can. Like say I was to drive to LA tomorrow night."

"Don't you mean say _we_ were to drive to LA?"

"Slayer, that was just an example. And the point I was trying to make is that we've got better things to do, our first night in your room, than talk about Grandpa." He leaned down to kiss her, tightening his grip to pull her flush against his body and then he rolled over onto his back bringing her with him.

He teased at her lower lip, capturing it between his and pulling at it, nibbling at it with a delighted smile. She realised, she'd been pouting and her brain supplied the soundtrack. _'Gonna get it… Gonna get it.' _Suddenly it hit home. She knew in her head, knew in her heart that what they had really _could_ work. When she came out of Willow's spell she'd been grossed out about how she could love someone she didn't even like. Since then he'd become her confidant, her partner and companion on her nightly patrols and her shaggin' partner (as Spike had once described them) but she'd never seen that happy teasing side again until earlier tonight. She hoped she would see it more often now that they were really a couple.

She grinned widely, effectively ending Spike's play.

"Wha' so funny, love?"

"Us. You. Good memories. Do you have any idea how cute you are when you get all… like you just were?"

She screeched before she could stop herself. His hands seemed to be all over her tickling in all her most sensitive spots. His voice resonant with barely contained laughter. "The. Big. Bad. Does. Not. Do. Cute." She squirmed all over his body, trying to evade his teasing fingers but not trying so hard as to move away from him. Her response coming out between her gasps for air.

"No… but you do… cute and… you… do the… Big Bad."

Spike, perhaps, would have spent some time wondering when he stopped being the Big Bad and started playing him were it not for the fact that the woman he loved was moving around on top of him in a way that made him want to pound her into the mattress. All at once he was sitting upright with Buffy straddling his lap. One hand was tangled in her hair and the other was pulling her close, grinding his lower body against her. His sudden kiss was deep and hard. Instead of resisting she gave herself up to it, only pulling back when lack of oxygen had her gasping to draw breath.

"Change," she managed in a hoarse whisper and then she reclaimed his mouth without waiting to see if he would comply with her request. She felt his bones move under her tongue, heard all the cracking and grinding sounds clearer than ever before, transmitted through her jaw bone instead of across still air.

Kissing a vampire in game face was something that required a great deal of delicacy if no blood was to be spilled. Instead Buffy deliberately ran her tongue over the sharp edges of Spike's upper teeth, opening free-flowing cuts. She brushed her tongue against his letting him savour the aphrodisiac. At the first taste he froze in her embrace his increased arousal immediately apparent. When he resumed his oral exploration his efforts were equally passionate, but more tender, careful not to cause her further injury.

When the bleeding had slowed she drew back from his kiss, taking the time to look into his golden eyes. Seeing his discomfort under her gaze she knelt to place a kiss on his ridged brow, following up with a multitude more all over the altered planes of his face. Her fingers traced the contours of his demon countenance ensuring their likeness was committed to memory, along with those of the face he wore almost constantly now. 

"You about finished yet, pet? Just there's some things I'm wanting to do and if I stay looking like this they might hurt. Besides, didn't you tell me only one vampire got you hot?"

"Yeah, well that's true. Only I was kinda economical with the truth about the rest of it. See I thought Angel got me hot until this other vamp showed me what hot really was. An-"

She didn't get any further, Spike pushing her over onto her back and fiercely claiming her mouth, the grinding of bone presaging his return to human form even as he did so. One hand moved to fondle her breasts. He had folded his legs under as he tipped her over, so whilst he leant forward from a kneeling position, Buffy was lying with her hips on top of his thighs and her legs either side of his waist. She reached behind his head entwining her fingers in his hair and just when she was in need of breath she pulled his mouth away and rolled them over onto their sides freeing her legs.

Even though Spike had no need for breath, both of them were panting when they pulled apart. A layer of sweat coated Buffy's body and those parts of his where they had been in contact.

Spike swiped along the hollow above her collar-bone with his tongue, savouring her salt taste. "So this one vamp… must be a lucky guy. Anyone I know?"

Buffy swung her legs around so that they were once more lower down the bed than her head her shins resting against the wrought iron at the bottom of the bed. She began kissing, licking and nibbling her way down Spike's contoured chest and abdomen, breaking off occasionally to answer her lover's question. "Well, I could tell you that it was you… but what if I was lying… there's really only one way to be sure." 

It took some time before the matter was conclusively proven to Buffy's evident satisfaction.

"Well, pet, I think we can safely say that that question's been settled," he whispered not bothering to hide his amusement, but still falling far short of his smug tone.

Buffy gave a gentle snort. "I guess it is." She considered the indications of his continued arousal, "but I think we need one more round, at least, to be sure." 

"That sounds like a good idea from here, love." He captured her lips in a tender kiss. "Did you have anything in particular in mind?"

"Mmmh, something slow and hard and so deep that it hurts…"

"Oh yeah, I like it when naughty Buffy comes out to play. Think we can manage that."

****

To be continued in chapter 1.04

  
  



	4. Leap of Faith Ch 4

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk. 

****

Distribution: Currently here and at The Crypt. Use http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm to access the latest updates section where you'll find a direct link to the most recent chapter, or http://crypt.fontsofwisdom.net to access the Buffy section of the main site. All the chapters will be posted at the Crypt BEFORE they go up on ff.net. This is so that (for the relevant chapters) I can refer adult readers to the unedited version.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Special thanks also, to all of you who have taken the time and made the effort to review. I would name you all personally, but at the present time I don't have access to a computer. In fact, I didn't even post this chapter, my lovely beta MadRog did it for me so that you lovely people wouldn't be kept waiting for a week between instalments.

****

SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.04

__

Monday

Over the course of the night and the following morning Spike and Buffy slept for short periods. In between times, they made love, they shagged, they fucked like a dockside whore and a sailor on his first shore leave in years and covered a fair few variants in between. Despite Dawn's assurances Buffy had set her alarm in time to get Dawn up for school, but since she could already hear her sister in the bathroom when it went off she hadn't actually bothered leaving the bedroom. True to form at some point in the evening the bed had been abandoned, the pair and a selection of bedding having found their way to the floor.

It was only mid-morning, when Buffy's stomach started making rumbling noises, that the pair actually made it out of the room. Buffy led the way to the kitchen, checking for open curtains en route. She filled the coffee machine on autopilot, while Spike checked out the fridge and cupboards. He passed the almost empty milk carton to Buffy for her coffee. He didn't like to comment, but in his opinion there wasn't much in the way of food in the house to feed even Buffy and Dawn. Factor in Red, Pixie and him and things looked even worse. It was no wonder the slayer was starting to look like a big-eyed waif. From here it looked like half their grocery money went on bottled water, and not even big bottles just lots of the little ones.

"Not enough milk for cereal or pancakes. Reckon I can do you toast or scrambled egg on toast and that's as much of a choice as you get, unless you're weird enough to want an omelette with nothing on." He looked across to where Buffy was pulling mugs from a cupboard, his shirt from last night only just covering her bottom as she reached up.

"Scrambled egg sounds good. Have you always been able to cook or is this a recent thing?" Buffy asked.

"Bit of both. Used to knock around the kitchens with the cook's sons when I was a kid, but didn't have any call to do much till I ended up lookin' after Niblet. Had to learn most of it all over again since tastes have changed and your average suburban kitchen doesn't have a wood-burning stove, but hey. Even watch some of those god-awful cookery programs they have on daytime television. Have to get Bit to check the seasoning on some things what with vamp taste-buds working a bit different but mostly they turn out okay if I stick to the recipe." As he spoke, Spike moved efficiently around the kitchen collecting together what he needed and making a start on Buffy's breakfast.

"To judge by how well you know your way round the kitchen you must have looked after her a lot?" Buffy came up behind him sliding her arms round his waist while he beat the eggs with some seasoning and a little water.

"An odd time the Wiccas wanted to go out, but mostly it was just covering for Scooby meetings or movie nights or whatever."

"Wait a minute. You're saying that when the rest of the people you patrolled with got together socially, you wouldn't get invited? You'd be expected to watch Dawn?" 

Spike couldn't actually see Buffy's face but he could tell by the tone of her voice that she was getting herself worked up again.

"Well, yeah, but way I see it, I got the better deal. D'rather spend the night playin' rummy with either of the Summers girls than watchin' some chick flick and listenin' to Harris makin' asinine jokes. 'Sides, meant they never asked me to do any of that research that gets you lot all excited either."

"Despite the fact you probably know more languages than any of us with the possible exception of Giles, and know demons like that Glar Gluck Cash Machine thingy on sight whereas it took us half a day to work out what it was."

Spike smirked, putting the bowl on the counter next to the cooker and turning to face Buffy. "Not my fault your mates assume that I must be thick 'cause I can fight." He gave her a chaste kiss, determined not to get distracted till after she had eaten, then, turned back to his cooking.

"Hey, I could take that as an insult. Just so long as you realise you won't be getting off that easy any more now your secret's out."

"If it means spendin' more time with you 'n' the Bit you won't catch me complainin'... Well, you probably will but it'll be more to get up Harris's nose than anything."

"You're Evil."

Spike reached behind him with one hand to briefly squeeze Buffy's butt. "'N' don't you forget it." In response, Buffy nuzzled in against his shirtless back and tightened her grip around his waist content to remain there until he finished preparing her breakfast.

Ten minutes later they faced each other across the kitchen island, Spike sipping at a cup of coffee and Buffy tucking into her perfectly prepared breakfast.

"Not bad for someone who can't taste what he cooks. Thank you." Buffy said after the first couple of bites.

"Least I can do when you spend so much of your time cookin'."

"Not just the cooking. Being here, really being here for me. It's sort of new. Riley was sort of… you'd go to bed with Riley and wake up to Agent Finn – all vitamin supplements and push ups and not the naked kind. Soon as he woke up, his mind was at least partly on what he had to do that day. Angel and Parker weren't even there when I woke up. Kinda nice having somebody's undivided attention."

"Prob'ly 'cause I'm still tryin' to convince myself I'm not dreamin', love. If it wasn't for the fact I'm Evil I could think I'd died and gone to heaven, except then there'd be some blood in the fridge… which is my unsubtle way of asking if it's okay to stock up your fridge a bit?"

"Sure," she smiled over at him. "If everything hadn't happened all at once I would have probably tried to get you some."

"So, you got anything you've got to do today? …Other than making an old man very happy, that is" Spike raised his eyebrow and treated Buffy to the trademark leer.

"I've got work, late shift, four till twelve. Patrol. But nothing till this afternoon. Need some groceries though, or Dawn'll have to order in." 

"Wasn't me cooking when you work late part of our deal? I'll make sure Niblet gets something to eat, love. It still leaves me plenty time to do a sweep of the graveyards before it's time to meet you from work, unless of course after eight hours at a grill you need to kick some demon ass to let off steam."

"You're joking, come midnight it's Buffy the Zombie Vampire Slayer. I'd normally blow it off, but I did that last night, so…"

"So, Spike here gets a spot of violence before bedtime."

"Spike, last night, you were joking about driving to LA, weren't you?"

"Yes 'n' no. I'd rather get it out of the way, but seein' as I've got a busy night planned it can wait."

"How about I ring Cordelia and maybe arrange a visit. Tell her my boyfriend's bringing me to town and I thought we could meet up. If we had already arranged a visit there'd be no reason for him to come here."

Spike shrugged. "It's all going to end up the same way however you try to come at it, but feel free."

"Maybe, you should have kept those balls you gave to Xander a bit longer," she teased.

"Not a hope, slayer. That'd ruin all my fun, there wouldn't be any challenge to a fight then. There's no glory in beating up on things as don't have a chance against you. Remember, pet. Death, glory and sod all else, other than love."

His hand reached out to where hers rested on the counter, covering it until her fingers moved to intertwine between his. Buffy looked up from her empty plate, into a pair of soft blue eyes. "Death and love, kinda unmixy, least not fun mixy. Don't ever want you any more dead than you already are," she said shyly.

"Feeling's mutual, love." Without loosening his hold on Buffy's hand he walked round the island to stand beside the slayer's stool, Buffy turning to face him. The knuckles of his free hand brushed her cheek as his head moved in, tilted slightly to one side, bringing his lips ever closer to hers. Buffy flicked her tongue over her lower lip and then her eyes drifted shut and everything except the feel of his lips on hers ceased to exist. The kiss had nothing to do with foreplay and everything to do with laying bare their feelings to the other.

With a breathless gasp, Buffy tilted her head so she sat forehead to forehead with the vampire, both reluctant to end the moment of total intimacy. Finally as her breathing returned to normal Buffy was the first to speak.

"Can we go back to bed and just talk and cuddle for a bit?"

"As you wish," Spike's response was barely louder than a whisper.

"You've been watching 'The Princess Bride' again, haven't you?"

"Guilty as charged, princess. But how many films are there where the handsome yet evil pirate, renowned for leaving no survivors gets to find true love. Not to mention the fact that that he's blond, dashing, good with a blade… though my personal preference is for an axe rather than a sword and pretty much love's bitch."

"Ooh. Over-identify much?"

Buffy grabbed the cordless handset and started leading her very own peroxide pest to back to her bed. 

"Hey, I could have said he was intelligent, well-travelled and had an English accent and a girlfriend with perfect breasts, but I didn't." 

"Want me to start calling you Westley?"

"Hell, no. That's a poofy name, only thing they got wrong, shoulda called 'im William." Spike delivered this last absolutely deadpan. Buffy took advantage of the turn on the stairs to steal a furtive glance back at him only to see him wiggling his eyebrow at her in a way that brought her to a giggling standstill. Undeterred Spike bent down and before Buffy realised what he was doing she was over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked in between taking advantage of the view from her new position. "And what have you done with sarky Spike?"

"If you must know Sarky Spike went off looking for his soul-mate Bitchy Buffy, so when you run across one of them I'm fairly certain the other'll be close by."

Buffy landed once more in the middle of the bed. She climbed in under the covers as Spike peeled off his skin-tight jeans before joining her. He felt her feet rub against his legs as he climbed in but she made no move to bring her upper half closer, so he settled into position facing her far enough apart to watch her face. Their legs intertwined seemingly of their own volition and his hand reached over to hold hers once more.

"What did you want to talk about, pet?"

"You. What you like, what you don't like. Places you've been. Stuff you've done… minus the killing and maiming. Want to know a bit more about what's inside that head of yours. You've been part of my life for years and apart from Passions, The Princess Bride, The Sex Pistols and The Ramones I haven't got a clue about anything you like. I've seen you with a book in your hand but I've no idea what you read.

Help me understand who you are. Starting with why you hardly ever go into "game face" any more? Why did it make you feel awkward last night?"

Spike's eyes darted nervously downward and she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He met her gaze again, his eyes constantly gauging her reaction as he spoke. "I fell in love with you because you treated me like a man. Even though I know I'm a monster, you made me want to be that man. Bringing the demon forward reminds me how far I am from what you deserve, that I'll always be beneath you."

"Oh Spike… You said it often enough. I can't believe you don't know it, don't feel it deep down. I need a bit of monster in my man. I need an arrogant, confident guy who doesn't get intimidated by a strong woman. I need a strong guy who can stand by me in a fight without me worrying whether he's going to break. I get hot for the predator that crawled into this bed last night and made me come so often I gave up trying to count. Get the picture. I'm attracted to you. As you are. The whole package.

When you're in game face you're more difficult to read. I kinda miss those blue eyes of yours and you're right the fangs aren't practical for every situation but it's still part of you. The things I said, the way I treated you, they're to do with me being screwed up. You didn't do anything to deserve them. You've got no reason to be ashamed of what you are. As for you being beneath me, I think we both know who's been the better person since I came back. I can't guarantee next time we have a fight I won't fling it in your face. Sometimes Bitchy Buffy just takes over, but I can guarantee that I won't mean it.

Maybe, if I was a normal girl, with a normal life in some quiet little town then I could have fallen in love with that shy guy in your dream if I ever got to know him well enough. But that's not how my life went. I am who I am. My life is a mess and I need someone who's more than a man. I need _you_."

"You're trying to tell me this," Spike morphed into his demon façade, "isn't repugnant to you? That it doesn't remind you of the thousands of inhuman beasts you've executed since you were called?"

Buffy threw the hand, which she had been holding, away from her in disgust, anger flashing in her eyes.

"What makes you think you can fall in love with a slayer, but the slayer can't love a vampire? It's all you. Snaggle-toothed yellow-eyed demon or the most gorgeous bloody hunk of man-flesh to ever walk the planet, it's still you.

Get over yourself already. I'm not that shallow that I can't accept what you are. Except for times like last night I'm probably not going to ask you to change, but I know it's kinda natural for it to come out when you're 'emotional' and that's okay. You said when I had sex with Riley I would be holding back all the time, well, evidence tends to suggest you haven't exactly been letting yourself go when we're together. Stop being a hypocrite. Get over worrying what I'm going to think and let yourself go."

Spike's face changed back to his normal human form about halfway through the slayer's little speech, a self-satisfied grin splitting it in two.

"What did you just call me, slayer?"

"A hypocrite, a stinking, lousy hypocrite." Buffy's arms were crossed beneath the duvet and her lips had formed into an irritated pout.

"Before that, pet. Right after the snaggle-toothed yellow-eyed demon bit?"

"Oh, then." Suddenly shy, her voice was tentative and as she dug herself in deeper she spoke faster and faster. "I think I said something like you were the most gorgeous hunk of man-flesh to ever walk the earth, but then I am biased. I have seen you naked. To be totally objective I'd really have to see all the others naked too and let's not go there."

A low rumble issued from Spike's throat and at first Buffy was unsure whether it was a laugh or a growl, until she looked at his face. "How the hell do you manage to be the wanton sex goddess of my dreams and still blush at the very idea of seeing a bloke naked? And do you have any idea how bloody adorable it is?"

"Stop it!" She prodded him in the chest. "I'm supposed to be angry at you, not all shy and happy and squidgy feeling."

Spike's voice was soft and gentle and Buffy wondered if he knew how the tone and the accent combined to make her go weak at the knees. "I thought this was "learn about Spike" time, not "get mad at Spike" time. And in answer to your point before, if now and again I hold in the demon, it's because I don't want to get carried away and bite you or claim you or something without you being fully aware of what's going on and a willing participant. I understand what you're saying and when we're both ready I'll take you up on what you said. Until then things will have to stay as they are because I'm not going to muck this up a second time. Next question?"

"Okay, what sort of stuff do you read?"

Spike shrugged. "Anything I can lay my hands on as long as it's well written and not total bollocks like that Anne Rice stuff. Can't be arsed with all that "I feel so guilty", "I cry blood" crap."

"Okay, so no Le Stat in Spikey's Christmas stocking, but what do you like? What were you reading when I came in that night when Riley was in town?"

Spike looked sheepish and his response was all but inaudible.

"What was that?" Buffy asked unwilling to believe her ears.

"I said poetry. It was a book of poetry." He looked so embarrassed and almost angry at being caught out, she just had to kiss him. As she drew away from him she once again took his hand in hers.

"What's your favourite poem? Do you know any by heart?" she asked.

"I don't know. Poetry's a bit like music. There are times when you want to listen to the Ramones and times when maybe you'd rather have a bit of Enya or Sarah Maclachlan, and yeah, I can recite more than a few."

"Give me some examples," Buffy suggested.

"The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,

The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor," Spike recited, his diction automatically falling back to the more precise tones of his human days, stopping when he saw Buffy shake her head.

"Great poem, wrong mood. Too much blood and guts, try again and not 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', or Graves or Sassoon or any of the rest of those depressing First World War ones."

"Okay. How's this then?

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw—

For he's the master criminal who can defy the law.

He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard…

What, pet? Still not the right mood?"

Buffy was now in a definite pout. "Your century's version of Dr. Seuss is not going to win fair lady. Want smoochie type poetry."

A half smirk on his lips and laughter in his eye, Spike responded. "T. S. Eliot's twentieth century, pet. As I recall that particular volume was published in 1939, but if Buffy wants smoochies, smoochies she shall have.

The fountains mingle with the river

And the river with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single,

All things by a law divine

In one another's being mingle –

Why not I with thine?

See the mountain's kiss high heaven

And the waves clasp one another," Spike was stunned to see Buffy's lips moving along with his as they finished the rest of the poem together.

"No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdain'd its brother:

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea – 

What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?"

As they recited the last verse they moved gradually closer, their lips meeting as soon as the last word was spoken and tender seconds passed before the two broke apart.

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 1.05

Poems used entirely without permission are in order The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Macavity: The Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot and Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

  
  



	5. Leap of Faith Ch 5

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk. 

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Distribution: Currently here and at The Crypt. Use http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm to access the latest updates section where you'll find a direct link to the most recent chapter, or http://crypt.fontsofwisdom.net to access the Buffy section of the main site. All the chapters will be posted at the Crypt BEFORE they go up on ff.net. This is so that (for the relevant chapters) I can refer adult readers to the unedited version.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Special thanks also, to all of you who have taken the time and made the effort to review. I would name you all personally, but at the present time I don't have access to a computer. In fact, I didn't even post this chapter, my lovely beta MadRog did it for me so that you lovely people wouldn't be kept waiting for a week between instalments.

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SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.05

"How is it you keep surprising me?" Buffy asked Spike.

"I could ask you the same thing. Only difference is I thought I knew more about you than you knew about me. So how is it you can quote Shelley?"

"Half a semester with Professor Lillian, and they used it on a Twin Peaks rerun on the Sci-Fi channel the other week, but only the end bit. I liked that class. Professor Lillian was a sweetie and at least I understood what he was talking about. Not like that class I went to with Willow." Buffy sighed.

"What's up, pet?" Spike asked.

"I re-applied for college, but they turned me down because I didn't re-apply early enough, like while I was dead."

"How long have you known?"

"That would be the morning after the night I spent trying to get the grass stains out of what was my new wool coat that ended up in the bin." She fixed him with an accusing stare.

"You mean that mustard yellow duffle coat thing? It was a mercy killing. That was ages ago. Did you talk to Pixie or Red or the Watcher about it?"

"No. I didn't tell anyone. Nobody… it seemed like there wasn't…"

"Shh, pet. I know things were strained between us but I was always there to listen to you any time you needed it. I always will be. Don't suppose you checked to see if you could have your credits transferred over to a community college course?"

"No. Kinda figured I'd just mucked up college altogether. Didn't want to talk about it to Willow and Tara with them being all big with the studying. I suppose I could have told Giles, with him being a drop-out, but he said he left to make me stand on my own feet."

"Next time me and your watcher are on the same continent, pet, I think it's safe to say we'll have words. Why don't you pick up a prospectus for the next semester and try and make an appointment to speak to someone about whether you can salvage any credits."

"Will, there's no way I can afford to go back to college even part-time."

"Look, pet. You want to go back to college. I want you to be happy. If you insist we can call it a loan. You know if you get a decent job after college you could pay me back over two or three years and you know without an education you're likely looking at one minimum wage job after another. No ulterior motive, I'm not going to demand any money back or refuse to give you the money for the rest of the course if we split up. If anything happens to me, it all goes to you and Bit anyway.

Think how stupid you'd feel if you said no now and two years from now we were either married or I was dust and you were trying to go back and do this after another two years in a job you don't like and the credits you've got have expired."

"And think how stupid you'll feel if you pay for me to go to college for two years and then I die before I can get a proper job and pay you back."

"Love, you're not leaving me here alone again. If you die again I'll not be sticking round for longer than it takes to see one last sunrise."

"Dawn—"

"Dawn isn't a little kid any more. She's nearly old enough to be treated as an emancipated minor and what I'd leave her would give her the house free and clear, pay her a decent allowance and the rest would stay in trust for her until she's twenty-one. She would be okay."

"No. She wouldn't, you selfish bastard. She loves you. What do you think it would do to her to lose both of us the same day? —"

"Well, you better not go sacrificing yourself for some greater good then, because I'd rather spend five months under torture with that hell-bitch, Glory, than re-live the time when you were dead. I refuse to go through that again for anyone, even Dawn. And you can either like it or lump it, 'cause by definition you ain't goin' to be here to do anything about it."

The pair glared at each other in silence.

"Quitter," she spat.

"Yeah, like you were so happy to be back, and that was with me, your sister and all your mates to come back to."

"This discussion is not over. You ever think maybe it might take more than a couple of years helping out the good guys before there's a chance we'll end up in the same place?"

"Slayer, we're never going to end up in the same place. You might end up with wussy-boy William, but I'm a demon. At the end of my time on earth I'm going somewhere warm. I came to terms with that a long time ago. If I can share what time I have with you that's as much of heaven as I need."

"Stubborn, pig-headed vampire. Don't think I won't talk to the priest about this next time I'm scrounging up some holy water. We'll see about this 'damned' business."

"Think about it, pet. The bloody holy water you're talkin' about gives me blisters. I think that's as much of an indication as I need that God wants no part of me."

"You promised you'd never leave. You said you would always be there for me. Well, I don't know if anyone ever told you what Angel said when you first came to Sunnydale. He said once you start something, you don't stop until you get rid of everything that's in your way. So, you better start working out a way to get your demon ass into heaven 'cause if you don't then I'm damn well going to take that the same as you walking out on me. Are you clear on that?"

"You're a Grade A bitch, d'you know that?"

"But it wouldn't be half as interesting if I was all sweetness and light twenty-four seven, would it?" Buffy turned his earlier words against him.

"Do you have the least idea how much what you're asking would screw with the natural order of things?" A smile was forming on his lips.

"No more than a soulless vampire and a slayer being in love with one another."

"Yeah, well I've always been a reb-" The grin that had made its way onto his face at the prospect of this ultimate rebellion was suddenly replaced with a shocked expression. "What did you just say? Word for word…"

"I said "no more than a soulless vampire and a slayer…" Shit. I guess that's what they call a Freudian slip."

"Say it, slayer." Spike's voice was hard, brittle.

Buffy's was filled with surprise and a little awe. "I said I'm in love with you. I'm in love with Spike. I, Buffy, the vampire slayer, am in love with, William the Bloody, master vampire and slayer of slayers… I'm certifiable."

"No, pet. In a mad world, it's one crazy thing that makes perfect sense."

Spike turned his back to Buffy and swinging his legs out of the bed, bent over to pull on his jeans in one swift movement.

"Wh-where are you going?"

"Only as far as the bathroom, love."

Buffy sat up, her voice getting louder as he left the room. "But vampires don't need to use bathrooms."

Almost as soon as he left the room he was back, duster in one hand, feeling through his inside pockets with the other. The coat was slung to one side and he took Buffy's hand pulling her forward until she sat on the edge of the bed.

Spike dropped to one knee and Buffy suddenly realised what was happening.

"No, Spike. No way. Don't do this."

"Stop being a bitch for once and just listen." One arm stretched up, just managing to reach far enough to place his fingertips on her lips, stilling her protests. "Buffy, I asked you this once before and you said yes, but what I imagined I felt then is only a fraction of how much I care for you now. You are what makes my existence worth living. You are the sun that lights my world. Every day we can have together is precious and I don't want to waste a single one. Please would you do me the honour of consenting to be my wife."

"Stupid vampire." Tears of frustration welled in Buffy's eyes. "How on earth can you propose when we've only been on one date. It's ridiculous. And what you said was beautiful and that makes me feel like I should say yes, but it's way too soon."

"Buffy, you're the one who's always said slayers come with an expiration date. If I'm going to have less than a handful of years with you then I am damn well not going to hold back because of convention. Maybe if Dawn didn't exist and there wasn't anyone from social services snooping around and I could spend every night in your bed then I might be prepared to wait. Honestly though, the part of me that isn't demon is one hundred percent Victorian male and damned if I don't want to make an honest bloody woman out of you, you stubborn awkward bint. It's so bloody simple even Harris could manage the math. I'm in love with you. You're in love with me, now for Christ's sake just say yes so I can get up off this floor and kiss you, woman."

"I suppose you call that a proposal?" Buffy queried.

"No. I called the first bit a proposal. This is an argument with my demented soon to be fiancée who hasn't got the good sense to know when she's onto a good thing. Besides, you might as well give up now. You just said that once I set my sights on something I don't stop till I get it."

Buffy realised she was beat and decided to get as much out of the bargain as she could.

"On two conditions. One, we have a church wedding-"

"Are you stark ravin' bonkers, woman? We can't have a church wedding."

"I've never actually seen any physical reason why not. You're not repelled by crosses. They don't bother you unless you actually touch them, so stop acting like a fledgling. As far as I'm aware wedding services don't involve touching crosses or holy water, so I don't see what your big problem is. You can't tell me you can't go in a church 'cause I've seen you in one. Besides, I think it might be a step in the right direction for condition number two.

You do not in any way shorten your life, or unlife I should say, unless you have good reason to suppose that we will be together in the afterlife _or_ you've spent at least as long helping the good guys as you did on the other side of the fence." Buffy's face set in her best imitation of Willow's resolve face.

"What the hell do you expect me to do? Play nursemaid to every slayer they send to this hell-hole for the next hundred and twenty years?"

"See if you can up the average life-expectancy a bit. Maybe a few more will get the chance to have a life, but look after Dawn and if she has any family, well, hey, you know what you're like for Summers women. Maybe keep an eye on the Scoobies as a whole."

"The concept of sarcasm just flew right over your pretty little valley-girl head, didn't it?"

"No, I'm deadly serious. And when their eighteenth birthday's coming up find out from Giles about the Cruciamentum or whatever they call it and warn them. Them's the conditions, put up or shut up."

Buffy wasn't sure exactly what the string of muttered curses that came from Spike's mouth consisted of, but she did think she caught the phrase "blackmailing bitch" and "whipped" in there.

"It's a deal, love. You have my word, provided you find a Protestant vicar prepared to perform the ceremony knowing that I'm a vampire."

"Done." Buffy grinned, pleased with the concessions she had gained.

"In that case, Buffy, my love, would you please do me the honour of consenting to be my wife?"

"I will."

Spike produced a rather worn looking leather box, snapping it open to reveal a reddish-gold band with five good sized diamonds set into it in a row. Around the stones and particularly at either end of the row the band had been engraved or etched with curling lines. "It belonged to my great-grandmother and then my mother. I had the family lawyers take it out of storage and get it cleaned a while ago. It might need to be resized, but I don't think so. I have the matching wedding band, as well, but if you'd rather pick something more to your own taste, then we-."

The fingers of Buffy's left hand were placed gently on his lips and then dropped to where his hands were waiting. It was hard to believe that Spike's hand would shake as he placed the ring on her finger, but maybe he was more William than he would ever admit.

He rose to his feet, pulling his fiancée into his arms with a "Come 'ere, ya stubborn bint." Then he swept her over in a dip and laid a kiss on her that would have done credit to Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara.

"Just 'Buffy and William'," he said as Buffy struggled to regain her composure.

"What?"

"The wedding invitations. No 'Summers'. No 'the Bloody'. 'No Spike'. Just 'Buffy and William'." 

"That works."

"Well, I'm not just the most gorgeous hunk of man-flesh that ever walked the earth, you know."

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 1.06

Okay, I can't take it back now, it's just how it sort of happened when I was writing it, but does it seem believable or does it just seem like too much of a change of attitude for Buffy too quickly?

Let me know what you think.

  
  



	6. Leap of Faith Ch 6

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.06

"Dawn." The slayer yanked open drawers pulling out and sliding on some lacy white briefs. She pulled Spike's shirt off over her head, but before he had time to appreciate the view she threw it in his face.

"And she's off… What's the problem, love? I kinda thought being in your own bedroom might save you from the quick dress and run scenario."

"Get your clothes on, you stupid vamp. I might be leaving but you're coming with me. Dawn's lunch-break finishes in an hour and she can't leave school grounds. So if we want to make sure she's the first person we tell, you're going to have to drive into the school parking lot."

"Can't we just wait till she comes home and tell her then?"

"I'll be at work and you're seeing Anya before then. You think she's not going to ask you why you're grinning like the Cheshire cat?"

"Nah, Anya wouldn't read Lewis Carroll. Harris only just managed to stop her walking out of the Matrix, but point taken. Though I did hope you might just phone in sick for work and hand in your notice at the same time." Spike pulled his shirt over his head and headed for the bathroom to retrieve his boots and socks.

"If it was still Manny the manager I would, but Lorraine's always been decent. The least I can do is work my notice which I'll hand in tonight."

"That's my girl. Now tell me your bank details."

"You what?"

"If you're leaving work, then you're going to need money coming in from somewhere else. I'll get the lawyers to arrange a weekly allowance until we get married and then they can just transfer half the assets into your name. I would do it now, but if we wait till we're married then the transfer should be tax exempt or it would be in England."

"You're starting to sound like Anya."

"Hush, pet. Be nice. I was planning on asking her if she still had her wedding organiser with all the stuff about florists and dress shops and suit hire, but if you want to slog through the Yellow Pages and find all of them yourself…"

Spike pushed his now fully attired wife-to-be out of the room. 

She commented as they left, "Giles is going to think this is a practical joke, you know?"

"Yeah, right up until he gets the plane tickets to get his bum over here and give you away… Hmph, bet your vicar won't let me have Clem for best man. Guess I'm going to have to ask Angel."

"Pfft. And I'll have Dru and Harmony for bridesmaids… You said he'd probably beat you black and blue just for touching me and then you want to ask him to be best man."

"Hell, pet. If we're getting married he can't say I'm taking advantage of you. And he knows I wouldn't go as far as getting' married if it was just me trying to soften you up for the kill. As far as Angel goes, I've probably dramatically increased my chances of not getting' staked if he wins the fight, not that he will." He paused ready to open the front door.

"How are we doing this, pet? Are you sticking with me all the way, meeting me at the car or meeting me at the school?"

Buffy picked up the bag of things to be returned to The Magic Box and threw Spike a blanket she had found in the basement the previous day.

"Staying with you all the way."

"Sewers it is…"

* * * * *

The black DeSoto pulled up in the school parking lot.

"It's not my fault you decided to wear heels. You were the one who said you would come through the sewers. I offered to meet you at the car."

"It's still your fault for having a stupid bloody sunlight allergy."

Spike smirked. "That's at least the second time today you've said bloody."

"Well, if it is, that's your bloody fault as well."

"Go fetch the Niblet and remember to keep your left hand in your pocket till you get back to the car."

"Yes, dear." Buffy stuck her left hand in her jeans pocket and stalked off in search of her little sister, wishing yet again that the Mayor had skipped her graduation. That way she'd know where she was going.

* * * * *

The two Summers women climbed into the old car.

"So what's the big emergency that brings you out the bedroom, then?" Dawn asked nonchalantly.

Buffy looked nervously at Spike who immediately frowned. "You told her already."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't"

"Definitely did, or Bit would have interrupted by now to find out what we were talking about. And you would have gone straight to the showing and the squealing and giggling and bouncing instead of looking guilty and people would have thought there was something different going on in this car from what there is."

Buffy pulled her hand from her pocket and held it out in front of Dawn. Spike lit up a cigarette.

"Oh my God. It's gorgeous, Buffy. That must have cost you a fortune, Spike."

Spike grunted. "Bet first time she saw it she went, "OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod."" Spike did a better impersonation of Dawn's high pitched shrieking than any male past puberty and still in possession of his testicles should be able to do. "And I bet you did the bouncy, giggly thing that bloke's like to watch… except when it's like their little sister, so I would have just had to watch Buffy."

Both women blushed.

"I don't know why I bother. She could have come on her own… No better than a bleedin' chauffeur… Bloody church wedding."

"Spike, I'm really sorry. I just couldn't keep it in when I saw her. I had to tell her straight away."

Spike smirked back at her, his previous resentment apparently all for show. "If you'd made it back to the car without telling her, I'd have been disappointed at your lack of enthusiasm."

"What?" Buffy was confused by his about-face.

"This is your sister we're talking about. If you'd made it back to the car without telling her, it would have been a pretty sure-fire sign you were regretting saying yes. I might even have been tempted to call it off."

"You manipulative bastard," accused the slayer.

"Thought I might as well live up to what you were accusin' me of last week, pet."

"So," Dawn treated the pair to a smirk that ought to have earned Spike royalties. "Does this mean you'll be asking Xander to be best man."

"Anyone noticed hell freezin' over," Spike retorted. "Then, I think not. Maybe if Clem can't do it Rupert could do both, d'you think?"

"Can I help plan everything?" Dawn wheedled.

"Ask Buffy."

"Can I, please? I can help pick the bridesmaid dresses and everything."

"The ulterior motive is revealed," announced Buffy. "Yes, you can help as long as you get all your homework done first and keep your grades up, otherwise we might economise by getting you, Will and Tara to wear the radioactive dresses from Arashmahar."

The conversation was rudely terminated by the bell for the end of lunch-hour.

* * * * *

"Do me a favour, pet. Have a look in the glove box there. Behind the parkin' tickets and the log book, right at the back there should be a brown envelope with some money in."

Buffy found the rather scruffy item and before she could pass it over to him he astounded her by saying, "Get a couple of thousand out for me."

Lifting the flap of the envelope Buffy discovered a stack of brand new sequentially numbered hundred dollar bills. Counting off twenty of the bills she passed them to him, noting that there were probably five times that number remaining. Spike took the cash and stuffed it loose into his duster pocket.

"Why do you have thousands of dollars sitting in a car that's probably only worth a couple of hundred?"

"I like to have some cash around for emergencies. The car's more secure than the crypt and it's handier if I need a fast getaway. And how many times do I have to tell you that my baby is not some heap of junk? She's a classic.

You're probably goin' to need some of that once you start getting' stuff for the weddin'. Leave a couple of grand in the envelope and you keep the rest."

"You're saying, here you go have seven or eight thousand dollars?"

"Yeah, I mean as soon as you start orderin' stuff and bookin' places they're going to want money aren't they. I know what's there won't be enough for everything but I'll get more if you let me know when you're running out."

"You expect me to carry around thousands of dollar in cash. I don't even draw more than a hundred out of the ATM at a time."

"Bloody hell." Spike slung the steering wheel round to the left and pulled an illegal U-turn before pulling up in front of Buffy's bank.

"This is a "No parking" zone," Buffy pointed out.

"You better be quick, then."

His bride to be rolled her eyes and darted into the bank.

After ten minutes of chain-smoking, a quick glance in the rear view mirror showed an approaching traffic cop. Spike pulled out and began to drive round in circles. It was twenty minutes after that before he spotted Buffy half a block down from the bank, heading toward The Magic Box.

He pulled up next to her and waited for her to get in. He was unprepared for her onslaught when she did.

"You left."

"I didn't bloody leave. I've been driving in circles round that bank for the last God knows how long. Which part of quick didn't you understand?"

"It's not my fault. I got this girl, Amber, who used to be in my French class, and she saw the ring and well… And then when I said the money was from my fiancé to go towards paying for the wedding she said I should open a separate account because it would make it simpler to keep track of it all. And then the manager recognised me and wanted to talk about the reward and I had to count it all before I could fill in the deposit slip and I kept losing track."

"Sequential bills, pet. Take away the little number from the big number, add one and stick a couple of zeros on the end. Hardly rocket-science. What did they say about the reward, then?"

"Apparently they got back just over ninety-seven thousand, so it means just over three thousand two hundred each, which I could get very excited about except you seem to treat it like spare change."

The car pulled into a shady alley at the rear of The Magic Box.

"Sounds like you're getting all upset with me 'cause I'm not skint. Hey, I could've just not bothered telling you I had any money and let you go even deeper in debt trying to pay for a wedding you couldn't afford.

The money that was there is more than I would normally keep hanging around, but I started keepin' some extra after you started workin' in that dump, just in case you came to your senses and quit. The rest would normally last me a good six months but lately I've been getting through more booze than I normally do. And the only reason I just stuck two grand in my pocket is that I owe eighteen hundred of it to Anya for first and last on the flat she leased when she split up with Xander."

"Why do you owe money on Anya's lease? Were you paying her rent? That's a lot of rent. Willow only pays forty bucks a week."

"How the hell does your brain work, woman? Why would I have been paying demon-bint's rent? It's hardly like she can't look after her own money. I'm subletting from her. All-inclusive. She's not stuck with the lease on an empty apartment. I don't have to pass a credit check or set up direct debits to a non-existent bank account to cover bills and it already has cable, and she's taping Passions for me until I get moved in. Happy now?"

"Why didn't you tell me before?" the slayer pouted.

"'Cause I was planning on surprising you and the Bit and making dinner for you there after I got settled."

Spike got out of the car and tried the back door of the shop. It was locked.

"Pet, do you think you could go round the front and open this door for me, save me going through the sewers again?"

He turned to see that Buffy was still sitting in the passenger seat of the car. He opened her door leaning over the top of it to speak to her.

"Okay, love, what's up? Talk to me?"

"You. Everything. You're all grumpy. My whole life is disintegrating in front of me. Practically nothing's the same as it was yesterday morning, and even if some of it or all of it's good, it's just too much all at once and it's all revolving round you and now if I'm wrong I'm not just screwing up my love-life I'm screwing up everything."

Spike was torn between trying to comfort Buffy and his own pain at her belief she might be making a mistake. He moved around the car door to crouch next to her seat, taking one of her hands in his. "Love, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get upset. I know it's a lot all at once. If you want… I don't know what to say."

An awkward silence settled on the pair, and Spike began to wonder if this was going to turn into the cruellest of 'morning after's he and the slayer had ever shared. Finally, he tried to pry into the workings of the slayer's brain.

"Okay, pet. Seems to me that the final straw was me telling you about the flat. So chances are there's something about that you don't like. Maybe you'd rather I stayed in the crypt?"

"Well, no… but, I mean it was kinda cool. I mean, it's not far from the house and it's right in the middle of my patrol routes and it was ours. Well, it was yours, but sometimes it felt like it was ours. It was… I felt safe there."

"Is that it? Buffy, I hate to tell you, but the place is trashed. Downstairs needs a lot of shoring up done before I'd let either you or Bit back in there. Then, we'd have to scrounge together some furniture that's good enough to use but not so good that it would get nicked. You vetoed pinching electricity and I don't think I could stand having a generator running all the time, between the noise and the fumes.

It isn't exactly an address you can give to social services if they start asking questions about your new boyfriend. It's definitely not an address I could have given to the cable-company or the electricity people. Living there just isn't a feasible option any more. Taking over Anya's apartment seemed to solve both our problems at once.

But that doesn't mean we can't fix the old place back up again a bit at a time. Keep the nasties from moving in. Call it our holiday home. It can still be our place…"

He could see her mood improving and decided to push his luck, running his tongue over his upper teeth " … somewhere private for those mid-patrol shags."

"Spike, you're a pig."

"But you love me anyway, right?" His words were devoid of his normal confidence and she realised that she'd set him up and knocked him down so many times he just wasn't able to take her words this morning at face value. She mentally kicked herself for hurting him again.

Getting out of the car, she wrapped her arms around the neck of the vampire, who had moved to let her out. She looked up into his eyes as she spoke. "I love you and I want to marry you. It's just that you freaked me out with ten thousand different things at once. In my line of work surprises are generally a bad thing and today seems to have been full of them. No more surprises today. Okay?"

"I'll do my best. Does this mean you're ready to play nice with the capitalist demon?"

"We talkin' 'bout you or Anya?" Buffy joked looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

"Anya. But if you want I'll find somewhere a bit more discreet to park the car or we could get to either your place or the crypt in under ten minutes." He tightened his arms around her body pulling her closer against him.

"You really should have been called Randy."

"Can you blame me? It's been three and a half hours. We've been engaged for two of them and you were in such a rush to tell your sister we still haven't had a celebratory shag. Bloody disgusting, that."

"This from the man who said yesterday he didn't want me to get the idea it was all about sex, and was probably brought up in an age where pre-marital sex was a stoning offence."

"Hey, I think you're still confusing me with Anya. In my day our exploits would just make you a fallen woman."

"And what would they make you?"

"A lucky bastard?"

"Pig." Buffy walked off around the corner of the building.

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 1.07


	7. Leap of Faith Ch 7

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: _Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. So far I've had as many reviews for the first chapter as for the next five put together. I know that with another twenty plus chapters lined up, I can't say that the reviews are going to encourage me to write quicker. I'm also aware that because of the way the story was written some of the chapters are low on action. However, given the current level of response, I'm not convinced it's even worth the effort required to edit, format up and post the stuff I've already got written. If you are reading this please let me know what you think, good or bad, so I can decide whether to continue. (Unless your name is Chorlton, since the only review I've ever seen you post is to tell people to write B/X instead and I'd rather stop writing than sink to that.) There's one more chapter before we hit the LA section so I guess that's as good a point to make a decision as any. Your response or lack thereof will determine whether I keep posting._

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

Dedication: For Anne Rose, Cindy and most especially blondel, who between them are responsible for the four reviews that the last five chapters have received.

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SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.07

The store was empty of customers so Buffy decided to try a small experiment.

"Hi. Spike's in the alley out back with money and goods if you wanna open the door for him."

__

'One elephant, two elephant, three elephant, four elephant, five elephant. Five seconds from dusting the front window display to opening the back door of the shop for Spike and his money. The power of commerce.'

"Hey, kitten, how's married life treating you?" Spike was speaking to Anya, but his smile was all for Buffy. He deposited the carrier on the counter and swaggered up to stand behind her, draping his arms around her shoulders. Buffy's hands came up to latch over his and Anya caught the gleam of diamond from twenty feet away as she followed Spike back into the main shop area.

Her treatise on the fun of being able to order a whole new set of cheque books, bank cards and credit cards with her new name on was forestalled indefinitely.

"Buffy, were you aware that you're wearing that ring on a finger which would traditionally indicate that it was an engagement ring?"

"Well I guess I'm just an old-fashioned girl at heart," said Buffy.

"That's you, conformist to the end," Spike added in a mildly sarcastic tone of voice.

"Well, honest to Pete, is it an engagement ring or not? Because if it isn't, it's just a touch showy for everyday wear." 

"Anya, you should know by now that my fiancée would never accessorise inappropriately," Spike said in a staid voice, which was belied by the smile that adorned his face as Anya dashed across the room to hug them both. 

Spike happily watched the pair of them poring over the ring. "Kitten, is there any chance that your husband might be able to make it over here for a late lunch come Scooby meeting, or will he already have had his lunch-hour?"

"He's still on holiday. He took a week off for the wedding, but I didn't want to close the store again so soon when it was already closed when I went away after Xander left me at the altar. He just popped out to get some snacks but he should be back soon. He said even if we couldn't have a honeymoon he could still be with me.

You do know how to summon a vengeance demon if Spike leaves you at the altar on the day, don't you?"

"I'll take that as my cue to ring Tara's dorm and a pizza delivery company, and I'm not being funny here, but I think it might be better to hide the ring when Xander gets back. He might take it better if the others are here when he finds out.

And before I forget there's the money for the flat. Tara said she put all the wrappings for the stuff we used back in the bag, so you should be able to tell from that what we owe and your scarf's in there as well because we needed something personal to do the location spell. I wouldn't have broken in except with the shop bein' shut, we didn't know if you'd been kidnapped or spelled or something."

"You're always breaking in."

"Hey. Only to the shop, not to where you live, and I won't be doing either again unless we have another magical emergency and while I think on you better gimme some burba weed and add that to the bill."

Spike wandered off to the far corner of the shop to make his call, whilst the girls took the ring over to admire it in the light by the front window. It wasn't long before the witches were on their way as were a couple of large pizzas with Anya and Buffy's favourite toppings.

As he wandered back over to Buffy, Spike's attention was caught by the display of candles. "Hey, pet. I don't suppose we could get away with buying some candles and keeping them in your room?"

"I don't think so. We're still keeping the whole house "magic" free. You're going to have to get used to these newfangled ideas like electric lighting some day."

"Very funny, but surely Tara doesn't strip-" Spike paused as the shop door opened, but after giving a brief nod by way of a greeting he continued again when he saw it was Xander coming in. "…her place bare of all that stuff when Willow stays there. So what's the point of taking everything out of your place, if half the time she's going to be at Tara's."

Anya decided to add her view to the discussion. "I think Spike's right. He should buy lots of candles for your bedroom. Candlelight is far more romantic for having sex than electric light. I think if you bought lots of candles it would improve your sex life. Hey, sweetie." She hugged Xander.

Spike's face wore his patented smirk and Buffy snorted at the very idea of being able to fit in any more of a sex life. 

Buffy and Xander exchanged greetings and Xander returned Spikes nod with an even smaller one.

"Hey, Ahn. I think we're in the realms of images I don't want to think about."

"I don't see why. You yourself commented on how attractive Spike is, last year, when you thought he was having sex with Buffy, and Buffy is a very attractive woman. I would have thought that imagining them making love by candlelight would be at least as erotic as many of the pictures in your magazines."

Instead of making an arch comment, Spike just raised his eyebrow even more and leered at the carpenter over Buffy's shoulder.

"I guess we better ask Red when she gets here whether it's still a problem or not."

"What's he doing here in broad daylight anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping somewhere rather than hanging round here in the same clothes you were wearing last night?"

"I'll survive until I can grab an hour or two while Buffy's at work." Spike countered before Anya added her take on the situation.

"He's returning some items of stolen stock and paying for others. He might also buy lots of candles. And we're waiting for pizza and Willow and Tara so we can have a Scooby meeting."

As soon as she said it everyone in the room could see Xander fighting the urge to demand to know when Spike became a Scooby. He only succeeded because he knew the answer wouldn't be something he wanted to hear.

"So what type of pizza we got? Inferno?" Xander asked hopefully.

"Hawaiian and pepperoni," replied Spike looking first at Buffy then at Anya.

Spike took Buffy's left hand in his right, covering the ring before Xander had a chance to see it and led her over to get a seat at the research table. Xander looked on unhappily. Spike never sat at the research table before, either. Spike sat on the stairs to the loft or on the counter or anywhere that wasn't at the table. The table was for people who belonged, not for Spike who was barely tolerated. It was his shop, well it was mostly Giles's but partly Anya's and he was married to Anya so that made it his, right? And he built the table, and okay it had been a bad idea to light the thing from underneath, so that it lit up the area around the books you wanted to read without casting any light on the pages themselves. But it looked pretty and now Evil Dead was going to eat pizza off it.

Since the pizza hadn't arrived yet, this called for chips and dip, at the counter, where he wouldn't get any dead fingers in his food. Maybe he didn't really want any pizza after all.

The jangling of the shop's bell interrupted his chain of thought, and the two witches entered. A round of 'Hey's and 'Hi's ensued, before Spike broached the candles question. Willow and Tara exchanged looks before Tara suggested, "Maybe plain unscented ones would be okay?" Willow smiled and nodded.

"You actually carry such a thing as unscented candles, kitten, or do they all have bits of plants and molluscs in?" Spike asked.

"We've got these." She indicated some boxes each holding a dozen tea-lights.

"Okay, stick half a dozen of those in with the burba weed and tell me the damage."

"Well, the burba weed would probably crumble a bit but you crumble it up before you. —"

"I meant tell me what the bill comes to," Spike forestalled her explanation.

"Oh, in that case," Anya rang up the last items on the till as she spoke, "it comes to seventy seven dollars and sixty three cents."

"I'll give you an even hundred if you get the watcher on speaker phone for ten minutes now everybody's here." 

Buffy gave him a look that was now slightly panicked, and Anya carried the phone over to the research table after ringing up the sale, putting the change into petty cash and making an appropriate note in the petty cash book.

"Are you ready, pet?" Spike looked at Buffy, who now looked even more nervous.

"Me?" 

"S'your mates… but if you want…" The mischievous tone he used for the second part convinced Buffy to forge ahead.

"I'm ready."

Anya dialled through to Giles' home where it was ten o'clock at night and after some brief greetings including Giles comment that this was the first time Buffy had managed to phone without waking him up in the middle of the night Buffy began the build-up to her big news.

"Hey, Giles, I'll bring you up to speed with the others. We managed to catch Warren and his gang last night and thanks to Anya they were arrested on various charges, so we shouldn't have any more trouble with them for quite some time.

We took these artefacts off Warren called…" Buffy paused and Spike filled in.

"The Orbs of Nezzla Khan"

"… And anyway Xander has them now, but if you can see if you can find out any information about them, in case they're cursed or anything but they seem to make whoever has them wicked strong as long as they keep them close together."

"Now you say they might be cursed?" Xander wailed.

"And because the bank got back more than half the money they stole and Xander got Jonathon and Dawn got thingy and me and Spike got Warren, then me and Dawn and Xander get to share the finder's fee, which is a bit over nine thousand seven hundred bucks."

"That's better news," said Xander approvingly.

"Yes, we can afford to have our marriage blessed now, and maybe a small honeymoon but not for several months as the shop has been closed far too many days this month anyway." Anya joined in.

"Yes, quite," came a slightly tinny voice from the phone. "I'm sure this will ease things financially for a while for you Buffy."

"Actually, I might let Dawn spend a little of hers but the bulk will go in her college fund and mine might help me with mine.

I heard back from UC Sunnydale a while back and they turned down my re-application, but Spike's talked me into looking at community college courses for next term. I'm going to hand in my notice at DMP today. As of next week I'll be an official slacker."

Protests were voiced from various corners of the room and the globe but Willow's intervention style comment was the most persistent.

"Buffy, I think it would be unwise to leave your job on the basis of one cheque which will barely cover one term's tuition fees. It's important to consider Dawn's welfare and how you can support her."

"Well I thought about that, so I decided to raise your rent, since you're not sharing a room or looking after Dawn any more." Buffy watched the surprised expressions on all their faces including Spike's. He'd come to the conclusion Willow's mooching was something Buffy was too soft-hearted to bring up. "Kidding." Buffy continued, but Spike knew that at least the idea she was underpaying was now in both Willow's and Buffy's minds. Hopefully Red would volunteer to contribute more.

"I'm reliably assured that finances aren't going to be a problem. Dawn and I will both be provided for. Which brings me to the last topic for today.

Giles, if you're willing, I'd still like you to be the one who gives me away. Think you can make the time to come over say in two or three months time? And Olivia or whoever else if you're not still. —"

Squeals of delight went up from the wiccas and Tara was the first to hug Spike whilst Willow concentrated on hugging Buffy and getting a look at the ring. Buffy could just hear Giles' exasperated tones over the sounds of excitement.

"Buffy, it might assist me in coming to a decision if you were to provide the name of the prospective groom."

Spike was the one to answer however. "Buffy reckons that Peaches warned you when I first came to Sunnydale that once I started on something I didn't stop until I got what I wanted. Does that answer your question."

"Actually, I think Buffy may have been euphemistic. Angel's precise words were more along the lines of you would kill everyone who stood in your way, but the spirit of the message is still the same… Spike, this is all above board? You haven't used any undue influence on her?"

"You mean have I put her in a thrall? Rupert, the witches could take her in the back room now and give her a strip search and they wouldn't find a fang mark on her newer than Drac's. After last summer, you can't think I'm stupid enough to make the same mistake twice. Putting Buffy under a thrall and convincing her she loved me would be like having the 'bot back, only worse. Couldn't do it."

"Yes, well, quite. Buffy says you have the means to support her and Dawn."

"I do, and I can provide you with references to prove it if that's what it takes.

Rupert, what I said about fang marks may not apply by the time you get here. If Buffy agrees to it, at some point in the not too distant future I mean for us to claim each other as mates. She's probably going to want to get a viewpoint other than mine before she makes any decision so if you've got any reference material on matings with humans or if it's ever happened before with a slayer then it may be in your best interest to look them up. All I can really tell her is what would happen with two vampires. I'm counting on you to find out the rest."

"Yes, well, I shall look into that. I'd be obliged if you were to hold off taking any action until I have some time to research the matter."

"I'll give you time, watcher, but I won't wait indefinitely. Then again— Watcher, got to go someone's upsetting my girlfriend. Anya, why don't you tell the watcher what you did on Saturday? And don't let him hang up till he speaks to Buffy."

Spike moved across the room so fast that he practically flew. 

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 1.08


	8. Leap of Faith Ch 8

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: _Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. I know that with another twenty plus chapters lined up, I can't say that the reviews are going to encourage me to write quicker, but they can make me post more often. I'm also aware that because of the way the story was written some of the chapters are low on action. _

Last chapter seemed to get a reasonable response and if that level of interest continues or improves I'll be happy to keep posting. If it turns out to be a fluke… come to your own conclusions. This is the last chapter before we hit the LA section, and right from the start that's going to take some work to bring it within the allowable ratings on ff.net so the more encouragement I get, the quicker I'll get to work on downgrading the next chapter.

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Okay, Reader asked me to add the next section, so if it helps say thank you to him/her nicely. I'll try to go back and add a similar section to previous chapters too, not that you'll care if you've already got this far. It's thanks to Reader, blondel, Dark Raven, Haley and Golum that you didn't have to wait another day for this.

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PREVIOUSLY: Whilst under the spell that allowed her to understand Spike's feelings for her Buffy discovered that Spike believed he had been forced into looking after the eggs of one of his poker "buddies" after Buffy killed the poker player's mate when she tried to protect her nest. Buffy and Spike are currently in the middle of breaking the news to the Scoobies about their sudden engagement. This chapter slightly overlaps the end of the previous one starting roughly at the point where Giles (on the phone) has asked Buffy who the groom is going to be and Spike gives him the "bad" news.

****

SECTION 1 – LEAP OF FAITH

__

And it's a leap of faith

When you believe there's someone out there

It's a leap of faith

When you believe that

Someone cares, oh

And when I call out to you

Will you be right there

Right there

(Michelle Branch, Album Broken Bracelet)

****

CHAPTER 1.08

Buffy was in the middle of a four-way hug with all her best female friends. Spike seemed to be taking care of her shiftless absentee father figure for just now and she just gave herself up to enjoying the moment. 

"You're sure this is what you want?" Willow asked, pulling back slightly from the group hug, the others following suit shortly after.

Buffy looked over to where her leather-clad partner spoke on the phone. "Yeah, it took him a while to convince me, but I guess I'm hooked on the idea now."

"Can I see the ring?" asked Tara and Buffy obliged holding it out so that both the witches could get a good view.

"I think you need to get that appraised and insured if those stones are diamonds. Xander spent the equivalent of several months salary on my ring and my solitaire is only slightly larger than the centre stone, and it's old, probably even older than him," Anya commented. 

"It's really nice. Is it a family thing or did he buy it?" asked Tara.

"It belonged to his great-grandmother and then to his mother, so yeah Anya even older than him," Buffy answered her friends. "And as far as valuing and insuring from what I've seen today he probably sorted that out before he broke up the set. Apparently there's a wedding band to match."

"What's your new name gonna be?" asked Willow.

"I haven't actually worked my way round to finding out yet. I suppose it'll depend what name he can get documents under."

Xander stepped forward from where he had been quietly munching his way through a family sized bag of Doritos and accompanying jar of dip.

"That does it! Buffy, listen to yourself! You're talking about getting married to someone and you don't even know his name. You say he has enough money to live off of and send you back to college, but it's not that long ago he was stealing the change from a round of drinks and now he's giving you antique jewellery. You know where his money comes from. You just don't want to admit it to yourself. I hope you can live with your conscience when you're Mrs Doctor."

"Xander, I know—" Buffy stopped mid-sentence and dropping low swept her right leg in a low semi-circle, the move being one more typically used by the unsuspecting vampire on whom she used it. Spike's previous speed worked against him as his momentum carried him face first toward the floor. In an instant he was back on his feet, but Buffy blocked his path to the male Scooby. "Stay put. I can handle this. If you'd hit him at the speed you were going you would have cracked his skull open and given yourself a migraine that would last a week."

"It would have been worth it. Human or not I'm not going to just stand by when some wanker deliberately tries to make you feel bad about being with me especially when he starts on the Doctor bullshit."

"I've got it under control, Will. He'll at least hear me out. You two would just end up in a shouting match at best,

Xander, Spike isn't the Doctor, in fact looking back, I'm pretty certain he'd never even heard of the name until Riley called him it. Whatever we killed in Spike's crypt they had chitinous armour, a segmented body, crab type legs and they were quadrupeds. Suvolte don't have chitin they have hide, they're bipeds and they have hands and feet, so unless they have a very, very strange development pattern, those things were not suvolte eggs.

I saw all this with my own eyes, but until I had a reason to doubt what Riley told me I never even gave a thought to reviewing what I'd seen, to work out whether it made sense. I just took everything he said at face value.

It's no secret that Riley and Spike have never been the best of friends. At best Riley was fed some misinformation which he wanted to believe. At worst he set Spike and me up. Hell, for all I know Sam said she worked in an infirmary in the Peace Corp. Maybe Mrs Riley Finn's the Doctor and the whole thing was just a cover for them to pick up the damn eggs so they could sell them themselves. 

Spike wasn't being entirely honest, but he wouldn't have ended up in that situation in the first place if it wasn't for something I did wrong. Maybe if he'd confided in me about the mess I landed him in at the time, this whole thing could have been avoided."

"You had enough on your plate, pet. I thought I could take care of it without you ever having to know."

"Yeah, well, that didn't turn out to be your best idea, but then I'm in no position to complain.

Anyway, Xander, you already know where a bit of Spike's money comes from or did you forget all the gold and gems that were in that crypt along with the gem of Amara. And as to the rest it's none of your business as long as I know and it doesn't bother me, which it doesn't."

"Good Godfrey Cambridge!" Xander tried a mental calculation of the value of the horde and tried to remember the way back. 

Buffy gave Xander a look which clearly indicated she wasn't finished yet. "And as for his name, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" or however that goes, not that Spike's a rose more like one of those persistent creeping vines that gradually takes over the entire garden when you're not looking." 

The couple exchanged a look and a smile, each reaching for the other's hand. "Thanks, pet. I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"His name isn't what's important, nor is what he's done in the past. All that matters is who he is today, and what he does from now on.

If you think that's morally reprehensible then let me know now before we start trying to work out the seating plan. This is the man I intend to marry and anyone who feels it's their right or their duty to undermine our relationship or him is no true friend of mine. And Xander there's a limit to how often we can have these conversations."

"Buffy," Anya called. "Giles wants to speak to you."

Spike walked back over to the table with Buffy, pulling her down to sit on his lap.

"Hey, Giles. Wanna play dad for a day, huh? Spike's willing to spring for a couple of return tickets. I don't know when it'll be yet. I have to find a clergyman who'll agree to do the ceremony first. I kinda thought I might try that church where I had the fight with Faith. That big long shady entryway was cool. Might look good in the photos. 

If you came over early you could help me spend Spike's money. He says I can have anything I want, no expense spared for my special day. So, will ya, pleeeease? Say you'll do it?"

"And to think I was worried that Spike might be taking advantage of you." Giles commented dryly. "If you're sure that this is what you want, then I'll be proud to give you away. I can't say that I'm totally surprised.

Did you say you were planning a church wedding?"

"Uh-huh, and I've got to wait till I can see your face to tell you the rest of what I got him to agree to. Do you think you'll bring Olivia?"

"I think she might be persuaded especially since flying coach would seem inappropriate when the theme of the wedding is no expense spared."

"Definitely inappropriate," confirmed Buffy. "The pseudo father of the bride is far too dignified a position to travel coach."

"Wouldn't have wished a flight that long in coach on my worst enemy even if you hadn't said anything. Besides, I have to keep in your good books in case I have to ask you to be best man as well," added Spike.

"What?"

Buffy sighed. "Spike doesn't know if the clergyman will let him have Clem. I mean Spike at least looks human, but people just don't go for the skin condition line."

"Pardon?" said Giles. 

"Ooh! You haven't met Clem, have you? Imagine Tara had a sex change and got turned into a demon whose skin was three times her size, now make her bald and a bit more naïve, even if he does cheat at kitten poker and you sort of have Clem. He's a sweetie, but as I say Spike doesn't know if the minister or whatever will agree. I say it would be too squicky for him to have Angel. I mean he's family but even so… It's awkward enough that we have to invite him, and if Dawn's chief bridesmaid then she would refuse to dance with him. So you were the only other guy he would even consider, but we'll get back to you on that. If someone's prepared to marry a vampire why should they bother if the best man's a demon, but I think you might have to sign the register anyway because I don't think Clem's a legal person."

"Speaking of Dawn how is she taking the news. I assume she knows."

"She volunteered to help with the planning but it's just so she can pick her own bridesmaid dress, I think. As far as Spike moving in with us, she's keen. She's probably loved him longer than I have. It'll be good."

The bell over the shop door sounded again and a confused looking delivery boy asked, "anybody here order pizza?"

"That'd be me," Spike pulled some crumpled notes from his duster pocket, checking the denominations before passing a suitable amount to the delivery boy, who continued to gaze transfixed at the shelves of merchandise.

Giles voice sounded from the speaker. "One assumes that the arrival of food will mean the end of any credible conversation. Anya, Xander, once again congratulations. Spike, I'll get back to you or Buffy regarding the matter we discussed. Both of you, take care of each other and tell Dawn I said hello and good bye to you all."

There was a veritable chorus of goodbyes before the connection was cut and the group crowded round the table for pizza, except for Xander who remained at the counter with his tortilla chips, away from food potentially touched by dead hands. 

"Oops," said Buffy, "did we forget to tell Giles you guys were back together?" She waved a pizza slice in the general direction of Willow and Tara.

"Sent him an e-mail at the weekend," the redhead smiled. "Of course he probably hasn't managed to wrest it from the infernal dread machine yet."

"Speaking of dread machines, I could use some help picking one. I know those black ones look nice and I know what I want it to be able to do but I've no real idea what specs that means I need. Are you up for taking on the challenge, Red?"

"Sure, the chance to spend someone else's money on electronics and software, fine by me. But have you got a stable power supply in the crypt?"

"Right, the power supply shouldn't be a problem, I'll explain why tonight when Bit's there. I've got to go home and get changed and then do some shopping once I drop Buffy off at work but I'll be over at the house later to cook for Dawn and Buffy. So, if you guys don't mind eating the same stuff I may as well cook for everybody and we can talk about it then." 

"Anya, you're good at identifying demons," Buffy returned to her earlier subject. "What sort of demon has…"

Anya listened to Buffy's demon description. "That's easy, those are baby Nevlon demons."

Buffy turned between Spike and Anya, "But I thought you said— thought that Nevlons were basically harmless."

"They are," supplied Anya. "They'll eat carrion, but as far as live prey goes even a full grown one will only go for say something like a large rat or small dog at best or worst if you happen to be a small dog."

"But they swarmed all over me and Riley as soon as they hatched," Buffy argued. "It was all we could do to get the little bug… bug-like things off of us and get out in one piece."

"Were either of you actually bitten?"

"No."

"Hmm. It's normal for the mother to carry the babies round on her back, sort of like the way baby swans sit on their mother or father or whatever. But they should only do that if you were producing the right pheromones. If you didn't know what they were doing you might have thought it was an attack."

"Didn't I tell you you used to have terrible taste in men?" Spike smirked.

"How do you get from what Anya just said to me having terrible taste in men?"

"Pet, if you smelled like mommy to those demons it wasn't from the underwear you'd been wearing at DMP, that just had the funky burger smell. So, it had to be on that nice black outfit and I don't think you bought your kevlar breastplate at K-Mart, did you? He set you up, love. Guess he didn't take the break-up as well as you thought," Spike reasoned.

"You don't know the half of it. He offered to kill you. Stood there as if he was doing me a favour. Something about having completed his mission parameters, but having authorisation to take the Doctor out and did I want him to do it, implying it would save me from having to do it myself. The bastard knew you had nothing to do with it. He knocked you round when you couldn't defend yourself and then offered to kill you for me, all just to get his own back at the pair of us."

"Or to cover his own arse if you're right about him and as I recall he wasn't the only one knockin' me around."

"Shit. I am such an idiot. You were right. I just assumed you were lying because it was a human telling me you were."

"That's not true, pet. It's not like I haven't misled you lot in the past, and if he fooled you it's because he's trained to be able to fool people. It's not just about human or demon. I mean you'd take my word over say, Willy's, wouldn't you? Or Clem's word over almost anybody's provided we're not talking poker?"

"But I should have been able to tell at the time you didn't have a clue about the Doctor thing? You didn't, did you?"

"Not the faintest idea what he was going on about at all."

"W-Wait you're saying Riley tried to kill Buffy," came an almost forlorn voice from the counter as Xander was on the way to realising that yet another of his heroes had feet of clay.

"No-o." explained Spike slowly and clearly. "Riley set it up so that Buffy and him presumably would be swarmed by a bunch of basically harmless demons. Since she was expecting something different, something that was lethal the minute they hatched, panicking and blowing up my home or watching while he did it isn't really a reaction I can blame her for. At the least my home was wrecked and Buffy didn't trust me any more so it basically ended what we had going at the time. At best for him Buffy might have killed me herself, failing that she might have taken him up on his offer which no doubt would have given him great personal satisfaction.

They're free and clear to do whatever they want because anyone mentions the Doctor and you're all going to blame me. Sooner or later I wind up dead because the Doctor does something that pushes the boundary just too far.

Buffy thinks him and his bitch are her bestest mates so next time there's some nasty whose bit's'll raise a few bob on the black market running loose in Sunnydale, he can still get her to go find it and kill it for him. Not a bad little plan. Bint must have come up with it. Bit too advanced for the tin soldier."

"Just one thing," said Willow. "Why did you have a bunch of these Nevlon eggs?"

"Nah, wait, before you answer that. Are you saying Riley's a bad guy?" Xander asked, clearly shaken. 

Spike groaned loudly. "Will someone either stake me, or explain to Special Ed in words he can understand?

Him and his wife are quite possibly the people who are trading in demons and demon parts.

They set me up to take the blame; incidentally breaking up my relationship with Buffy and at some point sooner or later no doubt I would end up dead. In your book that probably does make them the good guys.

But they were also setting Buffy up to do their work for them as long as she was useful and when it suited them they would probably have framed her too. The next slayer might not have the same personal history with them but hey, if you guys were still helping out, you'd vouch for him. Tell the new kid he was a stand-up guy.

I ended up looking after the eggs because the father, who I happened to know, was supposedly going out of town for a few days. Buffy sort of killed the mother when she tried to defend her nest. So I got stuck holding baby.

Notice how the possible outcomes of the little plot would also appeal to a demon whose mate of seventy years has just been killed by my girlfriend.

By the way, pet, did you ever remotely consider telling me Captain Cardboard was married, let alone to someone who worked in an infirmary."

"Mmm, Nope." Buffy did her I'm cute, don't hurt me grin, the one that becomes less effective for every year over the age of five, but still works when used on a totally besotted male of any species.

"So Riley and his wife are bad guys." Spike resisted the urge to stand up throwing Buffy off his lap and cheer at Xander's grasp of the situation.

"I knew that woman was too good to be true," said Willow. "Remind me to buy a shovel for the next time Riley comes to town. Which reminds me, Spike consider yourself hugged. Congratulations. I hope you'll both be very happy. If you hurt her, you, can of gasoline and your own Zippo."

"Hey, thanks, Red. At least you're more creative than most of the people who threaten me."

**** ****

To be continued in chapter 2.01


	9. Angel City Ch 1

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

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Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

In case you haven't guessed the song lyrics are almost totally irrelevant, but the title fitted and so did the attitude.

I _think_ I've managed to edit this down and vague it up to the point where it only deserves an R rating, but I find it kinda hard to judge 'cause in the UK we don't use those ratings and what passes for R on ff.net seems to vary quite widely. If anyone wants to take issue with the smut content I'd be grateful if they take it up with me rather than put a complaint in to ff.net. Having said that, for those of you who want to read the original uncut version of this chapter, check out the 20th Dec. update at The Crypt (http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm). If it's not up straight away when you read this it should be up not too long after, but don't forget to use the back button on your browser to return here and leave a review. 

Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, or in some cases chapter 1.07 too late to be included in the dedication for last chapter. That's Tori, mdknisley, Haley Teague, smartie1685, blondel, Reader and Mary Ann. As promised, more feedback means quicker updates.

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PREVIOUSLY: Buffy and Spike have just broken the news of their engagement to the Scoobies. Now they reckon it's time to put the wheels in motion for a trip to LA to let Angel get his temper tantrum out of the way. Meanwhile, Spike "helps" Buffy get changed into her work clothes… or maybe not.

In LA, Connor has recently arrived through the still open portal from Quortoth and all the AI team except Cordy and Groo (and of course Wesley who is currently persona non grata) are out looking for him or trying to find a way to shut the portal.

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SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

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I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

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CHAPTER 2.01

Spike pulled off Buffy's boots dropping them into the foot-well behind him as he moved over to the other side of the car. 

"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless," came the voice on the other end of the line.

Spike picked up the cell-phone from where it rested in Buffy's lap, moving it to the rear window ledge of the car so that the wire for the hands-free kit was no longer in the way of the buttons down the front of her blouse. 

"Didn't that use to be hopeless, Cordelia?" Buffy watched the pale elegant fingers deftly freeing her breasts of their cotton confinement, as she spoke. She hoped Cordelia hadn't noticed that her breathing was already quickening and he had yet to touch her flushed skin.

"Buffy? Is that you? And yes." Buffy automatically leaned forward so that when he eased the material over her shoulders it simply drifted down and she had just to lift her hands to be rid if it.

"Tell me you didn't just let Angel know I'm on the phone… please." Punishing her for using Angel's name he leant forward and bit down gently on her nearest breast, gradually increasing jaw pressure until she was just short of moaning her pleasure down the phone to the other woman. Talented fingers alternately stroked and kneaded at her other breast before using a circling motion so light it was almost as if he wasn't touching her to tease her further. 

"You're safe. There's only me and Groo, who you don't know, here. So if you don't want to speak to Angel, I hope it's me you want because Wes doesn't work here any more. And if you want to know that story then you're going to have to talk to tall, dark and broody because explaining what's happening round here to his ex is not part of my job description. 

Neither is guarding a portal from an untold hell dimension so foul the powers that be don't actually allow portals to go there, but hey, we'll let that one pass."

Spike deliberately varied the stimuli he employed, making her gasp in surprise just in time to make it sound as if she were drawing breath to continue as Cordelia finished. "Are you having your calls transferred or something?" _'Way to go with the inane comments,'_ thought Buffy, but then who in their right mind could expect her to think clearly while Spike was doing what he was doing.

"No, no. It's here, in the hotel lobby. But there's only been one really big scary demon come through so far and it's dead, so… what's with the phone call."

Spike's mouth moved to her other breast, suckling gently this time as if to make up for the earlier pain. His hands moved down to the tops of her jeans. This time before she spoke Buffy wove her fingers through the blond curls in front of her, pulling Spike's head back so she could meet his gaze. She let her eyes pass on the message that there was only one vampire she was thinking about.

"Okay, how is Angel?"

Spike gently traced along the line of her jeans using one cool finger until her stomach muscles tightened making it easier to deal swiftly with the zip and button holding the stiff fabric in place. He brought one knee up over her body wedging it between her and the seat back so that he straddled her just above her knees. His hands slid round behind her body pushing down the thick denim and flimsy white thong all in one movement and cradling her buttocks as her hips bucked up toward him 

"Oh, you know, kinda preoccupied, busy, that long involved story it's really not my place to tell, let's just say family business and leave it at that," Cordelia responded with faux brightness.

His hands were already supporting her weight and one quick motion brought Buffy's pelvis level with his. Her eyes widened in surprise and he smiled his amusement as he nuzzled her neck and ground their hips together.

"Okay. I've got some personal news that I thought would come better if you two both heard it from me rather than anyone else. You could say it's family business too."

Spike nibbled, licked and kissed his way down the centre of Buffy's body as he moved back to his original kneeling position to remove her jeans. The soft silky fabric of his worn coat lining brushed against her legs and back, where he had spread it over the chill, cracked leather of the DeSoto's back seat. The leather scent from the coat was almost gone after so many years of wear and unless you were a vampire your nose would almost have to touch it to pick up on that element of its scent. It smelled of cigarette smoke, and spicy cologne and just the lightest undertone of bourbon.

"So spill. You finally stake Drusilla or what?" as always Cordelia spoke her mind.

As Spike finished pulling off her jeans, Buffy wriggled her arms into the sleeves of the oversized coat, inhaling the scents that permeated its make-up, conjuring memories of numerous times its perfume had enveloped her at the height of her passion. As he threw her jeans and underwear aside he realised what she had done and was unable to contain a possessive growl.

"I'm engaged." 

A beautiful naked woman who had just announced her commitment to him lay in front of him, wearing only his ring and his coat, which reeked of his scent. Her arousal was evident to his sensitive nostrils and he could barely wait to stake his claim to her one more time. Instead he looked straight into her eyes and mouthed the words 'I. Love. You… I. Want. You… Forever.'

"Congratulations. I'll be sure to tell Angel when there's a suitable moment. Is this the army guy or is it a new one?" Cordelia conveyed the message that in her opinion a personal visit or even phone call was unnecessary, just avoiding sounding brusque.

Spike moved Buffy until she was lying on her side resting against the seat back.

"Not the army guy," Buffy said dryly, as Spike moved from his kneeling position between the front and back seats to lie next to her, squirming against her almost naked body to get maximum contact. Holding her tight he rolled onto his back. He wanted to watch his leather-clad angel move above him.

"Too _damn_ right, cheerleader," growled Spike into the microphone that dangled near the hollow of Buffy's throat.

There was a slight gasp at the other end of the line. "Buffy, that sounded like…"

"When I said it was family business I didn't just mean my family." Spike's hands slid under the coat, one tracing patterns on her back with his fingertips. The other stretching over the curve of her bottom.

"You're engaged to Spike!"

He took care to ensure she was ready for him. His gaze stayed on her face the whole time, her eyes darkening as she followed his actions.

"Now you see why we'd like to come up there and try to break the news gently. Spike seems to think that as soon as Angel hears he's going to regress straight back to all the macho vampire dominance crap. So, I figure we might as well come visit and get it all over and done with. Not that there's anything short of sending Spike home in a dust-buster that he can do to change my mind and if he does that he'll have one pissed off slayer on his hands."

Buffy sat up slightly, resting her elbows on Spike's chest as she tackled the buttons on the front of his shirt. Spike moaned low in his throat at the delay. Soon, however her hands slithered down between their bodies, working loose the fastenings on his jeans that were strained even tighter than normal.

"Right now, I'd say he's a little preoccupied," Cordelia commented in reference to Angel.

Buffy's hands worked on freeing her lover from the confines of his button-fly jeans.

"Not the only one," muttered Spike.

"This business, I don't suppose it would be important enough that some extra help might persuade him not to start a fight with Spike?" Buffy tried to see a way around this conflict.

The vampire frowned slightly at the suggestion. It felt wrong that so valuable a prize could ever be his without conflict. Surely Angel would never surrender his claim uncontested. Not unless the Poof had finally got over his feelings for Buffy, but if five hundred years in hell hadn't made any difference he doubted a couple of years in LA would. Either that or whatever was going on was big with a capital B.

All such thoughts vanished however as Buffy slipped her hand through the opening she had created, nudging his jeans down just to mid thigh to let her other hand explore lower.

"I don't honestly know," Cordy replied.

Vampires were supposed to be able to sense family members and identify them by scent. Would the same apply to kin who were conceived rather than made? If so, Spike could be useful if they were still trying to track Connor tomorrow. The question was whether Spike would be able to defend himself if he found the teenager. Willow had long ago filled in Cordelia about Spike's little trip to the vet's.

"We'll take our chances. We'll come up tomorrow after I finish work. We should get there about nine. I'll leave it up to you how much you think you should tell him before we get there. It might not come as such a shock to him if you can pave the way a bit. Hope nobody has to take a swan-dive off a tower to shut your portal.

Family emergencies not withstanding it'd be nice to see you again."

"You too, I think, but I'm not so sure about Spike."

Buffy yanked the cable loose from both the phone and her ear throwing it on the back windowsill of the car. Then she folded the phone in half replacing it in the pocket of the leather coat. Aware of Spike's gaze she took the time to flick the hem of the coat to fan out behind her before bending forward to claim his mouth, making up for lost time on the phone. 

Spike's hands roamed without pattern or reason underneath the supple leather desperate to touch as much of her as possible, to make every inch his and his alone. However, Buffy was moving down his body further out of his reach as she explored his bare chest with her hands and then her mouth, sucking and nibbling each nipple until, like hers, they were almost painfully hard. Her tongue traced a trail almost to his navel before cramped conditions prevented her from moving further down past Spike's upraised knees. Spike pushed against the car door with his booted feet straightening his legs until he sat with his back against the other door.

Buffy shifted down his body again, parting his legs as far as his jeans would allow using her knees, so she could kneel between them rather than straddling them. Spike closed his eyes to savour fully the feel of her hot mouth on his cool skin until he moaned first at the pleasurable sensation and then begging her to stop, his hands clenched over the seat backs to either side.

"Please… gotta stop… can't hold it any longer… want to be inside you."

Buffy straightened up moving onto his lap and he swung round in his seat and sat slightly forward. Raising herself up on her knees Buffy used one hand to guide him, lowering herself a fraction of an inch at a time. Spike repressed the almost overpowering urge to close his eyes and watched her face instead as he filled her completely. As she finally reached the end of that first stroke she took his face in both her hands. She watched his eyes and whispered, "I want you. I love you. Forever."

Her words stole the last of his self-control. His blue eyes turned to gold and his visage changed to that of the demon. With a growled, "Mine!" his teeth sank into the flesh of her neck, high up above the coat's collar. He managed to make the bite a clean one resisting the urge to tear at her flesh, but she bore the marks of all his teeth, not just his fangs though most of the marks were shallow. His involuntary movement inside her, and more especially his gentle suckling at his bite and the knowledge he had dropped that last vestige of control brought her to a trembling climax in his arms. As he withdrew his mouth from her neck, her forehead came to rest against his. "Yours… forever," she whispered.

__

'Shit!' thought the vampire. Nevertheless, he nicked his tongue on his fangs so that his blood and hers mingled as he lapped patiently at the wound until the bleeding stopped. _'How the hell am I going to explain this?'_ he thought as he resumed his human form once more.

He held her tight until her trembling finally stopped and then stroked her back through the leather in reassuring circles. As her blood had hit his mouth he had become fully aroused all over again and the feel of being inside her was intoxicating but before he could even think about satisfaction he had to tackle a rather difficult subject.

"Buffy, do you know what happened there? Do you understand the significance of it."

"You bit me, I assume that means you claimed me and since you said you weren't going to do that until I was ready to call you husband, I guess that was like a vampire wedding then."

"Not really. I meant to explain all this to you before anything like this happened. For it to be a marriage, you would have to claim me, the same way I've claimed you, and I would have to acknowledge your claim over me. 

Once the claim is reciprocated, if we were both vampires we would have an empathic link. If we were close enough, unless one of us made a conscious effort to block the link we'd be able to pick up on each other's emotions. Nothing overpowering, just an awareness of what the other is feeling. Regardless of distance, we'd also know if the other was killed or seriously hurt.

When two vampires bond and one is stronger than the other, then the weaker one's abilities tend to improve. If a vampire has the ability to reform after being staked, like Drac, the bond isn't broken when they're dusted. I don't know whether that means the bond goes beyond death or not. 

It's rare for a vampire to take a human mate, more often than not the human is turned first, but I think it has happened occasionally. As far as I know, it's never happened between a vampire and a slayer, but then that's the sort of thing the Council of Wankers would work very hard to cover up. There's no way to know what effect there would be if you reciprocated my claim, which is why I intended to see if Giles could dig up anything before we got this far."

The vampire looked into her face making sure she could see the truth of his next words. 

"Buffy, I never intended to have this happen as anything other than a mutual thing. I fully intended to let you know all the facts and have you speak to Giles and then come to an informed decision and if you wanted to then I thought we'd do it together. 

I definitely expected it to be something a bit more romantic than a quick shag in the back of the car. It's just when you said what you did, bye-bye self-control. I'm sorry, pet. You can shag me seven ways from Sunday and I'll happily keep myself in check, but you can't expect me to be all self-restraint when you take me in to the hilt, look me in the eye, and tell me you love me. Even what I did wouldn't make a claim if you hadn't said you were mine.

So, we have several options. We could leave things as they are, but I think that might be a bit unfair on you." Spike blew gently on the healing bite wound on the side of Buffy's neck. Her reaction tightened her stomach muscles as well as others. "As you could probably tell, the bite mark becomes like a sort of super erogenous zone, which is fine when turn about is fair play, but puts you at a disadvantage when I can have you wettin' your knickers with the slightest touch… Actually that probably does just about make us even 'cause I get a hard-on pretty much whenever you walk in the room anyway."

Buffy smiled at him. "It's kinda hard not to notice especially in this position. And who says you weren't on a level footing before?" Buffy gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.

"We can wait and see what Giles says when he gets back to us, however long that may take. We could even ring him back later tonight and try to catch him before he leaves for work in the morning and tell him what a balls-up I've made of things. See if that gets his arse in gear.

Or we say, bugger it. We can't go back so we might as well go forward and we do this properly, make things mutual now, without waiting to see what Giles has to say. As far as I know there are no adverse side effects, strengths are shared not weaknesses but there aren't any guarantees. And no matter what Giles finds, in the end it's going to be an individual case."

She searched his face, trying to find the clues she needed. "You want to do this, don't you?"

"Buffy, it isn't my choice. It has to be yours. I want it. It's a stronger bond even than marriage, but I'm also scared for you. I don't expect it to work that way, but what if you began to be affected by sunlight? Just because I've only ever heard of sharing strengths doesn't mean there's not a chance you'd end up with my weaknesses." 

"What time is it now in England?" Buffy asked.

"Eight hours later than it is here, somewhere around midnight… and, love, not that you can go, but I think you're supposed to be starting work about now."

"Wh-what?"

"Your neck, it's a bit obvious. You're either going to have to phone in sick or at the very least make some sort of excuse for being late so you can put a bandage on it, cover it up somehow. The barbecue fork excuse is not going to cut it."

"Great. Nice one, Fang Face." Buffy scrambled off his lap none too carefully, and started hunting through her gym bag till she found her make-up case, which held a small compact.

"Hey, I was kinda hoping we'd both have some use for that in the future. Try to leave it attached!" Spike whinged.

Buffy meanwhile tried to angle the mirror to see the extent of the damage, not aided by the dim light in the car's interior. "Shit. You don't do anything by halves, do you?"

Spike stuck his hand into the pocket of his coat rummaging around despite Buffy's protests until he found his cell-phone. Once he had it in his hand he flipped it open and pressed a button. The phone gave a small beep, and Spike held it up to his ear.

"Hell on earth," he spoke into the microphone. A series of different notes followed and then she heard a ring tone, which was finally answered by Lorraine's voice.

"Double Meat Palace, how can I help?"

"Hello, I'd like to speak to the duty manager, please." Spike's voice lost all of its normal roughness, becoming a model for well-mannered charm.

"Speaking, this is Lorraine."

"Hi. I'm calling on behalf of my girlfriend, Buffy Summers. I'm afraid she's not going to be able to make it in today for her shift."

"Oh, will she be okay for the rest of her shifts this week or should I arrange cover?"

"I couldn't say for sure. She's been attacked by some sort of animal, and she's lost some blood, but the bleeding seems to have eased off now. I think she might be going into shock though, so I was just going to take her home, put her to bed and get someone to have a look at her."

Buffy didn't know, whether to laugh or hit him and steal the phone and try to repair the damage, which was of course impossible anyway. 

"Ahhh…" Spike guessed that maybe the manager had picked up on Sunnydale's brand of animal attacks. "It sounds potentially serious, maybe I should make some provisional arrangements for cover."

"That could be for the best. Buffy's a very determined girl and she makes up her own mind about these things, but I know I'd be happier if she took some time to recover.

The fact is that Buffy was intending to hand her notice in today, anyway. 

You know that she's her younger sister's guardian?"

"No, I don't think I did. It may have been discussed when she originally started work here, but I only recently transferred to this branch."

"Yes, well, the hours and working evenings and weekends have tended to mean she has very little time with her. Let's just say the situation at home has forced her to consider looking for something more appropriate. With what's happened today, it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't make it back at all, but as I said before, you can't predict what she'll do. 

I'm sure she'll be well enough to speak to you herself tomorrow and let you know whether she'll be in for the rest of the week."

"Yes, well, thank you for calling, Mr…"

"William, just William's fine." 

"Well, thank you, William. I hope Buffy's going to be okay."

"I'm sure a day or two in bed will have her feeling a lot better," said Spike with a wicked smirk before he closed the phone. 

****

To be continued in chapter 2.02


	10. Angel City Ch 2

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

In case you haven't guessed the song lyrics are almost totally irrelevant, but the title fitted and so did the attitude.

I've edited this down to the point where I think it should only deserve an R rating, but I find it kinda hard to judge 'cause in the UK we don't use those ratings and what passes for R on ff.net seems to vary quite widely. If anyone wants to take issue with the smut content I'd be grateful if they take it up with me rather than put a complaint in to ff.net. Having said that, for those of you who want to read the original uncut version of this chapter, check out the updates at The Crypt (http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm). If it's not up straight away when you read this it should be up not too long after, but don't forget to use the back button on your browser to return here and leave a review. 

Thanks as always to everyone who has submitted reviews since I posted the last chapter. That's ello, MadRog (again), Inka and blondel. As promised, more feedback means quicker updates.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy got a little time alone in the back seat of Spike's car, with the end result that Buffy now has a Spike-size bite mark on her neck to go with the ones left by the master and Angel. This chapter follows on immediately from the point where Spike has called in to DMP on her behalf excusing her from work for the evening.

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.02

"You… are… Eee-vil." Buffy punctuated each syllable by poking him in the chest.

Spike shrugged. "I left your options open, didn't I? It's up to you if you go in there tomorrow with a bloody huge elastoplast and rely on the Sunnydale denial factor, or whether you come shopping with me for stuff for the flat."

"Ooo. What sort of shopping? …Hey, no fair. How am I supposed to try to be good if you're deliberately trying to tempt me?"

"Shopping, it is. I need some heavy curtains, bedding, towels, maybe some pictures and stuff, maybe a DVD player. Since anything I buy now is eventually going to end up wherever we live when we're married, it only makes sense for you to have a say." Spike shifted along the seat nearer to Buffy and let his elbow rest on the back of the chair. He tucked Buffy's hair behind her ear so that the scar was fully visible. "It's not that bad really. To judge by the scar Angel's was a lot messier." He ran a tentative fingertip over the wound and Buffy shivered. "Most of these teeth marks are too shallow to even scar. With your healing, in a month or two all that'll be left is another set of puncture scars." He tilted his head and moved in to kiss her neck.

Buffy felt as if there were mild electric shocks flowing all through her body, except the feeling wasn't unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination. She began to think the vampire could probably reduce her to a quivering, screaming mass, in public, fully clothed, just by kissing and touching those scars.

"You're not playing fair," she protested.

Capturing her hand and pulling it back toward his still open fly, Spike replied, "Neither's leaving me like this."

"But didn't you just tell me that you get like that whenever I walk in the room?" Buffy teased even as she moved to straddle his lap once more. "That would make it a bit difficult not to leave you like that."

"Especially if you give out little samples of slayer blood, then it would. Or did you forget about that little detail?"

It was some considerable time later that Spike pulled her in close against his chest and hooked his chin over her shoulder. He couldn't put into words how he felt right then and there wasn't space or time to spoon together till they fell asleep, so he just held her close against his chest and hoped that she would know. Minutes passed in comfortable silence before she moved to ease the growing ache in her hips, so maybe she did.

"So now you've corrupted me into playing truant from work, what did you have planned for the rest of the evening?"

"Well, I thought I might drop you off at home and then head back to the crypt for a wash and a change before I go food shopping. Then, I'd come back to your place to cook and then we could maybe patrol or watch a video with the Niblet and then patrol. How does that sound?"

"Better plan. You drive me over to your place or as near as you can, I fetch you a couple of changes of clothes and then we both go back to my place for you to get cleaned up. Dawn and I can go to Blockbuster while you do the food shopping. Cook, eat, video and patrol, assuming Dawn hasn't made other plans."

"As you wish, love, as you wish."

* * * * *

"Out, slayer." The vampire encouraged his fiancée to leave the kitchen.

"I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help," pouted the chosen one.

"You just wanted to find out what I was cooking, and I've heard enough from Dawn to know I don't want your help. Not this time anyway. If the table's set, go on through to the living room, find something educational on the idiot box and make Bit watch it."

"I could do the washing-up, clean up as you go along."

"What's Bit doing? Thought you were meant to spend time with her."

"Calculus." Buffy said the word with the same tone of disgust she might have reserved for gonorrhoea.

"'Nough said. There's some stuff in the sink already. Get to it wench."

Buffy moved over to the sink and added washing-up liquid and hot water to the few dirty utensils and the couple of chopping boards that were in the sink. She watched as Spike lifted the wok from the hob taking it over to the island where he had a trivet waiting to rest it on. He clicked the door shut on the microwave and dribbled some oil into a large flat rectangular oven-proof dish and tilted the dish until the oil coated the base of the dish and part of the sides. The microwave dinged and he pulled out a plate piled high with tortillas, which he used to wrap the contents of the wok into long thin parcels, arranging them in the bottom of the dish. He poured a jar of sauce over the top, covered the whole lot with grated cheese and slammed the dish into the oven.

Spike carried over the now empty wok and the plates he'd used for the cheese and the tortillas to the sink, dumping the empty jar in the bin on his way. Everything looked so organised. She'd expected the place to look like a bomb-site. Not to mention the efficient, graceful way he moved was damn sexy, even if this time he did have a shirt on. Maybe once she'd finished college she could make enough money to pay Spike to work as her own personal topless chef.

He slid his arms around her waist and rested his cheek against hers. "Can you do that big choppin' board first, love? Need it to do the salad." 

Once she'd obligingly wiped down the item in question he pulled a tea-towel from it's place dried it off and got to work chopping various vegetables he pulled from the now full fridge, throwing the bits into a large salad bowl as he went. Some olive oil went into a small jug along with what looked like lime-juice that was already in it and some finely chopped bits he pulled from the new tubs of fresh herbs that now adorned the window sills. Once he'd whisked it up with a fork, this went over the top of the salad and the whole lot was thoroughly mixed up, serving utensils added and the bowl went through to the dining room. Four beers, already opened and topped with wedges of lime were pulled from the fridge and carried through. 

Buffy had barely done any of the washing-up and rushed to try to make her contribution look presentable.

"Had enough of me hangin' round underfoot yet?" asked the vampire as he poured a glass of orange juice and tipped some blood from a polystyrene container into a mug before sticking said mug in the microwave and replacing the unused liquids back in the fridge.

"Hey, if you'd told me you were the undead's answer to Martha Stewart, you could have been round here every night long ago."

"So you're only marrying me so you can have an unpaid kitchen maid?" Spike smirked.

"Well, there's that, and your money, and of course I also get an unpaid sex slave and babysitter. The fact I kinda like you is just a bonus." The slayer piled more washing up onto the drying rack, and Spike waded in with a tea-towel putting things away as he finished drying them, at least until his blood was ready.

The self-proclaimed slayer of slayers leant back against the counter, sipping his blood and watching his slayer's rear view as she finished washing the last few remaining dishes and wondered what he could ever have done that meant he deserved to be here.

She turned as she finished, leaving the dishes on the rack to drain naturally. "How long before the enchiladas are ready?" 

Spike looked at the kitchen clock. "Between five and ten minutes. Just long enough for me to get your pressies from the car, now it's dark." He ducked out the back door before Buffy could ask anything else and came back in with one large flat box a largish floppy parcel and a carrier bag from a large department store.

He dropped the carrier bag behind his legs and passed her the other two. 

"Big one first or bigger one."

"I'd open the parcel before the box."

Buffy started to rip open the parcel, quickly discovering that whatever was inside was made of black satin. Envisioning sexy lingerie she pulled half the contents of the parcel out through the hole she'd made in the wrapping.

"Men's pyjama tops?" she asked with a wry smile, holding it up against herself. Spike noted happily that it fell an inch or two short of mid-thigh.

"Waste not, want not." Spike nudged the carrier bag he'd dropped on the floor with a boot. "Figured with Bit and Red and Glinda around my normal sleep attire might not be appropriate."

"So I get the tops and you get the bottoms." 

Spike nodded. "That other one's by way of reparations, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a duffle coat, let alone a yellow one so you'll have to make do."

Buffy tore into the wrapping paper as if there was an extra prize if she opened it in under two seconds. She barely took time to register the store name on the box before she threw the lid to one side closely followed by several sheets of tissue. She literally jumped up and down as she pulled the black leather coat from the box.

"Should be a bit harder to get grass stains on that, d'you think?"

The coat billowed as she swung it round to put it on. The leather was thick, heavy and obviously intended to be hard-wearing unlike most of the coats and jackets she bought, none of which seemed to last a week on patrol. Even so, the leather draped in soft lines instead of hanging stiffly. It had a long split at the back so that it moved freely round her legs, and she danced around the kitchen and living room turning this way and that and watching the coat fan out behind her.

Rushing back over to where Spike stood watching her obvious delight, she threw her arms about his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I love it, but this is the last of the his and hers clothing, isn't it? I can't see myself in Doc Martens however practical they may be."

"Don't knock 'em till you try 'em, pet. They'd be a damn sight comfier and last a damn sight longer than most of the ones you complain about ruining in sewers and on patrol, even if they don't fall into your 'stylish yet affordable' category."

Tilting his head slightly Spike leant in to claim a kiss from her conveniently placed lips and Buffy responded whole-heartedly.

Pulling his head back, he smiled wryly. "If I didn't know better I would say you got me all worked up deliberately, so that I could be uncomfortable all the way through dinner, which should be ready now, so tidy up your mess and I'll give the others a shout and take the stuff through." So saying, he turned the oven off and took the rest of his mug of blood and Dawn's orange juice through, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to shout, "Food's ready!" and then returning to the kitchen for the enchiladas. Buffy meanwhile had moved everything Spike had brought in from the car except the coat, which she was still wearing, into a small pile at one end of the sofa.

Soon several pairs of feet were heard making their way downstairs and a companionable meal was enjoyed by all. Spike didn't eat all that much. Nutritionally speaking the food did nothing for him, but he was pleased to see Buffy and Dawn tucking in. Given half a chance he'd get the slayer back to a proper weight in no time. Especially when she found out there was ice-cream for dessert. Willow and Spike must have spent about half the meal discussing his new PC. He basically wanted to use it to rip-off copies of all the stuff he'd lost on album, so that he could burn them to disc as mp3 files and play them either through the PC or on his yet to be bought DVD player. Other than that he'd thought about getting a web-cam and trying to force Giles into the age of video-conferencing, though that, Willow guessed was more for Buffy and Dawn's benefit than his own. Likewise, he'd asked for word-processing and spreadsheet capabilities, but when Willow asked if there was anything specific he wanted to be able to do, he admitted he'd been thinking about Buffy and Dawn's school and college assignments.

Buffy was surprised to find that despite living in a crypt for the last three years, Spike was more up to date with current technology than she was. She also noticed that even though she'd once asserted that Spike didn't play well with others, he'd fitted in just fine. The more she thought about it, the more she realised, Spike played fine with others, except for males who had some sort of interest in her, or when said males forced their women to pick sides. Of course she'd kinda missed this before because the two of them spent so much time arguing for totally different reasons. Maybe, now that Giles wasn't around, fifty percent of the problem was that Xander didn't play well with Spike.

* * * * *

When Spike started hurling abuse at the TV, Buffy thought maybe the house video night wasn't such a good idea after all. However, having recovered from the idea of the crowd at a medieval joust doing a "Band Aid" to "We Will Rock You" he seemed to settle in to enjoy the rest of the film. If he was a little vocal in his encouragement for the film's characters it was more endearing than annoying. In fact it gave all four women the chance to tease the former Big Bad mercilessly. Buffy was even almost tempted to have him around when the soccer World Cup was on just to see how excited he could get. Maybe by then he would be around anyway.

Patrol was routine in the nicest possible way. There were enough vampires on the prowl to give both Buffy and Spike a bit of a work out, even if Spike did more watching than fighting. Buffy realised how much she'd missed knowing that someone had her back. Most of the time she neither needed nor wanted anyone's help. Spike was the only person she patrolled with who stayed out of her way and let her do her thing but would back her up a hundred percent when he was needed. Actually since her return from the grave, Spike was the only person she patrolled with. And okay, so he let her fight her own battles because watching her fight was one of the ways he got his rocks off. Which was kinda skanky, or it would be if she wasn't seeing him. But since she was, in a creepy sort of way it was kinda cool.

Now all the "need to talk" issues were out of the way, they were back to not needing to talk. Not that Spike was silent man; that was never going to happen, but there were large chunks of time where they were okay just being together. That was also of the good. Buffy thought they had lost that easiness between them after their first kiss, or at least after her reaction to it. Yet, as soon as she… as soon she what? …as soon as she admitted to having feelings for him, went on a date, took him home and shagged him senseless or vice versa, got engaged the next morning and let him claim her before the day was out. Yeah, just a few minor adjustments and all of a sudden the friendly comfortable silences are back.

Towards the end of the circuit of the graveyards Spike moved to the leeward side of a tree, sheltering the flame from his Zippo slightly as he lit another menthol cigarette. Sliding down against the side of the tree he almost whispered the gentle request. "C'mere, love." Buffy settled herself between his outstretched legs, leaning back against his chest as his free hand slid around her waist. The scene felt familiar to her and yet not. Then she identified the feeling of déjà vu. Last time the earth over the nearby grave had been freshly turned and bare and the vampire had been Angel on his last and possibly his last ever visit to Sunnydale.

Spike had steered them to her mother's grave. She tilted her head back to give him a questioning look. Spike shrugged in response.

"Day like today, wouldn't seem right 'thout sharin' it with her, sayin' thank you."

"So you think she can see us… hear us?" Buffy asked.

"I'd like to think so, though not all the time, I hope. You tell me. Do you think she knows?"

"I don't know. I remember that I knew everyone was okay, but I don't know if I ever knew the details of what was going on in people's lives, or if I just can't remember. It's like the whole thing is getting hazier the longer I'm back," admitted the revenant.

"I like to think that she knows when you're thinking about her, or those sort of moments where you think, I wish she could have been here to see this, but at the same time I feel closer to her here somehow." 

"Me too." Buffy let her head rest side by side with his, her cheek against his jaw, and she placed both her hands over his right on her waist. There were things she might have said aloud if Spike hadn't been there. Instead, they ran through her head as a sort of silent prayer, which she hoped would somehow reach her mother. At her back, the vampire did much the same, only his messages were for a woman who had died more than a century before in a far away land as well as for Joyce.

When Spike lit a second cigarette, Buffy took it as a cue that he was ready to leave if she was. With a last goodbye, she levered herself into an upright position and offered a helping hand to Spike. "Come on. Time to make that phone call you were so looking forward to."

"Sure I can't just head home and let you take care of that?" Spike joked.

"Totally sure you can't head home and leave me to take care of it, Fang Boy" Buffy confirmed. "You're the one who made with the teeth. You get to talk to the nice watcher."

* * * * *

**__**

Tuesday Early hours of the morning

"Hey, Giles." Buffy opened the conversation.

"Buffy? I wasn't expecting to hear from you again so soon. Is everything okay? You haven't decided that there's no need for my services after all?" It was evident that Giles hadn't indulged in his morning dose of caffeine as yet.

"The wedding's still going ahead, but Spike needs to talk to you." Buffy passed the phone over to the vampire.

"Watcher," Spike started. "There's been a development since we spoke to you last. You know what I said this afternoon about fang marks… It no longer applies."

"Of all stupid irresponsible arrogant things to do. Do you have any idea–"

"Yes, Rupert. I know exactly how bad this looks. I have no intention of using this to undue advantage. What can I say? I lost control and I claimed her. She accepted the claim without realising what she was doing. All things being equal, if we didn't have to worry about the whole human, slayer thing then Buffy would claim me and that would be it, but we need to know that she won't take on my weaknesses. We need…" Spike's voice failed.

Buffy took the phone back from him. "Giles, it's me again. I know you want to lecture both of us and tell us how juvenile we've been and how you're disappointed, but we can't turn the clock back and this is a premium rate phone call. What we have to know is what do we do now?

Giles, soon is good. Please."

"Buffy, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible, but you really mustn't do anything until you hear back from me."

"Giles, we know. But we really didn't intend for anything to happen the last time."

"Perhaps you should… em, avoid each other until I can finish my research."

"Not an option. Or at least not one that I'm about to consider." Buffy made it clear.

"In that case, just, please be careful."

"We'll do our best. Speak to you soon."

"I'll be in touch," the watcher promised before hanging up the phone.

****

To be continued in chapter 2.03

As usual the more reviews you send the quicker the updates, so if you want to see the meeting between our blonde duo and the LA gang before Christmas better let me know what you think, because there's one more chapter to go before we get to that.

Next chapter we get to find out what Angel thinks regarding Spike's imminent arrival and Spike and Buffy travel to LA after their trip to the mall, of course.

And to those of you who might be waiting for the next instalment on Grosse Pointe Buff, I'm finally back working on it and will hopefully have something out before Christmas for that, too. Hopefully a nice seasonal chapter in fact. 


	11. Angel City Ch 3

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

Large chunks of this chapter are directly based on Angel the series and some dialogue has been used with only minor adjustments. I make no claim to have written this and give full credit to the writer(s) of the relevant episode(s).

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Okay, you guys were so good that you get this one now, and maybe since it's (almost) Christmas and this is a fairly quiet chapter (unfortunately that happens now and again when you write the whole thing before you try to break it up into bits. Sorry.) you _might_ get the next one later today (GMT), maybe.

Thanks to core013, nea, ello, Vision (Is the name anything to do with Bubblegum Crisis or am I way off base?), chase and S. 

****

PREVIOUSLY: In LA, except that Cordy received a phone call, events have gone pretty much as per the end of season two. The portal from Quortoth has been sealed and Angel caught up with Connor/Stephen talking to him for a while and leaving him an open invitation to return to the Hyperion, making it plain if he wants to he can call it home. For now the teenager has chosen to make his own way in the city, or so the AI crowd think, since they are unaware that Holtz, Connor's adoptive father, also came through the portal before it was closed.

On the hellmouth, Spike and Buffy's first full day as an engaged couple is about to begin with a trip to the mall, allowing Spike to outfit the apartment he will be subletting from Anya now that she is reconciled with Xander. Thanks to the spell that allowed her to share Spike's experiences, Buffy has sort of seen the apartment, though she hasn't visited it in the flesh so to speak.

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.03

__

Tuesday Morning

Cordy could hear the heavy sounds of Angel's hands impacting with the punching bag before she reached the room. She spoke as she went in, trying to distract the champion from his obvious brooding.

"Hey— I guess Fred is working on a way to determine if anything else came out of the portal."

Angel steadied the bag but still didn't turn to face the seer.

"That's good." His reply was terse.

"So maybe if we're very, very lucky, later today we'll be able to kill something. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Sure."

Cordy took a few seconds to debate her options before deciding to continue. "You had a phone call while you were out last night."

"Yeah." Angel's tone implied that he really didn't care.

"Buffy."

Angel continued to work on the punch-bag in silence, so Cordy pressed on.

"She said she wanted to see you." Angel steadied the punch-bag, looking at Cordy for the first time.

"I did say that now might not be the best time, that you were busy dealing with some family business."

"She's coming anyway, isn't she?"

Cordy nodded. "Tonight when she finishes work. She offered to help. Not that it seems like there'll be much for them to help with."

"Them?" asked Angel.

"Yeah, well, you're not going to like this part. Spike is her chauffeur for the night."

The punch-bag swung wildly as Angel's fist connected with enough force to split a knuckle or two.

"Does she know what happened the last time he was here?"

Cordy shrugged. "I don't know and I think that even if she does, she's hoping the two of you can put aside your differences, since she seemed to be volunteering his help as well."

Angel swung several more meaty punches at the bag so that the chains juddered, but still didn't comment.

"Maybe she's right. It seems from what I've heard from Willow that he's made a fresh start this last year or so. He's been helping them out for ages, for nothing, which is more than can be said for any of us. Seems like he played a big part in looking after Dawn when Buffy died. Him and the kid apparently dote on one another. I heard he nearly got himself tortured to death trying to keep her safe."

"Cordy, whatever front he may put on for public consumption, I know what Spike is. Spike is a ruthless killer with no feelings for anyone but himself and Dru and his feelings for Dru are just because it's in his blood."

"I think you may be wrong. From what I've heard not all of the Sunnydale crowd like him. Especially not Xander but then I don't recall Xander liking you either, but I think they would all say he's been useful.

It might be an idea if you spoke to Giles before they come. Get an unbiased opinion.

You either use this as an opportunity to reconnect with him, and give him the same benefit of the doubt that you want Connor to give you – or you start all "the macho vampire dominance crap" as Buffy put it and you'll probably never see him again. He's your family, it's up to you."

"Look, Cordy." Angel tried to spell things out for his colleague. "Spike is not coming here to win friends and influence people. He's a ruthless, psychotic killing machine and I know because I'm the one who moulded him. I beat every last bit of finer feeling out of him. Even if he can't hurt humans that still leaves you, Lorne, me and potentially Connor vulnerable to him. He's planning something. I don't know what, but whatever it is, it won't be a game of Happy Families."

"Angel. I get the message. You don't trust Spike. Buffy does though. She wouldn't be bringing him otherwise. I got the impression that if there's any trouble she thinks you'll be the one to start it. She trusts him not to start anything. Buffy's not a schoolgirl any more. She's a grown woman and she's seen a lot more of him for the last couple of years than you have. If she trusts him enough to put him in charge of her family's safety and she trusts him to bring her here without starting trouble then why shouldn't you."

"You just don't get it, Cordy. Spike and I have a history, very little of it good. I took pleasure in his pain. I forced him to submit to my domination. He's never been his own man. Even when I left, after I got my soul, he was forced to spend the next century trying to live up to the legacy I left behind. Then I come back and humiliate him again while he's stuck in a wheelchair unable to fight back. Spike hates me. I spent years, decades doing everything I could to make sure that he hated me. He hates me for how I treated him when we were all together and he hates me for leaving. He hates me most because he's had to live in my shadow. He loved Dru for over a century. He was the one who nursed her, looked after her, but I just had to look her way once after the best part of a hundred years and she left him for me.

These aren't things that could be forgiven. Even if he had a soul it would be nearly impossible. He hasn't, all he has is a demon thirsting for vengeance.

Tell me now that you think he wouldn't cause trouble, that once he knows Connor exists and what he means to me that he will be safe."

Cordy tried again to pacify him. "You said he hates you for leaving. That tends to imply that he wanted you to stay."

"You couldn't understand. He's family. There's all sorts of things in the mix but the bulk of what he feels is hatred and a need to prove himself."

"Okay, Angel, I say again speak to Giles, but you just said it yourself, he's family, and all this irredeemable crap is exactly what Connor says about you. It seems to me that if you want the benefit of the doubt, you should be prepared to give it to someone else now and again. 

When all's said and done you can always hit him back, if he hits you first, not to mention the fact that Gunn and Fred could take him out if they had to and he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

Or of course, if you want Buffy to think you're a huge loser who doesn't trust her judgement you could attack him the minute he arrives. 

You have till around nine this evening to think about it.

And about Connor, you're doing the right thing."

The thump, thump, thump of Angel's fists on the punch-bag ceased leaving only the sound of the bag swinging on its chains, but Angel refused to look her in the eye. Cordy turned to go.

"What if he doesn't come back?" Angel's voice stalled her on her way out and she turned back to him, their eyes meeting. "He feels further away from me now than when he was first taken. All that time I don't think I ever really believed that I'd lost him – not really. Then he shows up again and I knew I had."

"It's only temporary," the seer assured him.

"Yeah. Everything's temporary. There's just so much I thought we'd be able to do together before he, you know…"

"Grew up?"

"Hated me."

"Angel, he doesn't hate you. He doesn't even know you. – But he will. He's gonna come back, Angel."

"How do you know?

"Because – he has to. Because he's family." 

* * * * *

Buffy had spoken to Lorraine that morning on the telephone. She'd taken the easy way out and explained that she was still feeling a bit weak. She was up and about, but didn't feel she would be able to return to work as she was still shaky, emotionally and physically after the attack, so much so that she would prefer to be accompanied when she was out and about. She had promised to drop off her uniform or get "William" to drop it off later in the week. Then the pair of them had dropped by The Magic Box to pick up a set of keys from Anya so that Buffy could get a first hand look round the flat and take some quick curtain measurements before they went shopping.

Spike once again thanked the modern propensity for large malls with few points of egress and a preference for shelf-space over natural light which made vampire shopping far simpler than in the past. Once he had made it through to the dingy multi-storey parking lot attached to the mall he didn't have to worry about sunlight unless he passed near one of the four main entrances. 

He had decided on the largest possible quilt size and a deep violet silk quilt cover. He had wanted black sheets and pillowcases to contrast with the cover. Buffy had wanted lilac. When Spike refused to buy "poofy" sheets it had emerged that his previous pink bedding had in fact been left behind by Harmony when she moved out. Buffy had decided that demon eggs aside, letting her unknowingly use Harmony's sheets was reason enough for blowing up his crypt. They finally compromised on a silvery grey.

Spike had insisted they drop off the bulky purchases and have a coffee before they started looking for curtains.

"Pet, have you thought any about where we're going to live when we're married?"

"Well, no. I just assumed you'd move into the house."

"And share _your_ room?"

"Well, yeah— Oh, I see what you mean. It's going to be a bit small isn't it? But Willow's in mom's room…"

"Okay, pet. As far as I can see it there are three options assuming the wiccas are back as a unit. Option the first. Red moves out of your place and in with Glinda, which means the easiest thing is for us to take your mum's room.

Option the second. Pixie moves back in to your place. This leaves us a bit short on space, but maybe if the stuff that's in the basement would fit in your room, we could convert the basement into a bedroom. Maybe get someone to put up some drywall to section off the laundry area so the rest of them can use it without disturbing us. We could probably even get them to fit an extra bathroom, maybe some sound-proofing.

Option the third, we look for another place. Either for the three of us or the five of us."

"I thought you were supposed to be quitting with the surprises."

"I did. That's why I didn't mention this yesterday. It's something you and Dawn need to discuss with the witches. Whatever way it goes I'll be happy. We'll either have a bit of extra privacy or we'll have Glinda around which'll make me happier about leavin' Bit when we patrol."

"We don't need to make a decision right this minute though, do we?"

"Well, if you think we're likely to end up in your mum's old room we're going to need a lot more curtains to match the bedding than otherwise."

Buffy just sighed and decided to concentrate on her cappuccino.

The rest of the morning and the early afternoon passed with lots of good-natured bickering and not a few sets of puppy-dog eyes on either side before they finally admitted that they weren't going to be able to fit anything else into the car. Back at the flat Buffy got to unpack all the goodies from the car, stacking them to one side until Anya removed all her stuff and Spike could officially move in, hopefully when they came back from LA. 

Spike grabbed a few minutes sleep in the passenger seat on the shady side of the car. He wasn't going to start complaining, but sleeping on a stone sarcophagus after a night in Buffy's arms had resulted in him getting about the same amount of sleep for far less pleasant reasons. He could have gone up with her, but unlike earlier he had been unable to park the car in the early morning shade of the building and reach the entry hall uncovered. He didn't want the occupants of the other flats to see him running around under a blanket before he'd even moved in. Let their suspicions remain unaroused as long as possible. Besides, what's the point in having a girlfriend with super-strength if you don't let her use it now and then?

The sound of a car horn awoke Spike as Buffy cut-up the driver of a large white van, having belatedly realised that she was in the wrong lane.

"Bloody hell, woman. What on earth are you playing at?"

"Just trying to get in the right lane."

"No. Why the hell are you driving? I was supposed to drive. Remember?"

"You looked all cute and sleepy and I didn't want to disturb you."

"How often do I have to tell you not to use the "C" word, bint?" Spike was startled to realise they were almost at their destination. He had obviously been more tired than even he had realised. It wasn't even worth getting her to pull off the freeway at this stage so that he could take over, so he confined himself to giving directions and advising her as to when to change lane.

They had decided it would be better if they booked somewhere other than the Hyperion to stay whilst they were in town since Spike was none too sure of his welcome. Even if his meeting with Angel didn't result in an all-out bloodbath, it was hardly likely that his grand-sire would tolerate the noise from a room they might share. Not to mention the fact that having her ex with whom she'd spent one relatively innocent night listen to her and Spike's antics wasn't Buffy's idea of fun either.

Spike directed her toward a motel he had used before, neither too close nor too far from Angel's hotel. The room doors faced north and parking for each room was directly in front. The rooms were large with separate sitting, sleeping and food prep areas. They were well kept and Spike knew that Buffy would be pleased to find that patio doors on the south side of the room block opened onto a pleasant pool area. He'd got Dawn to fetch a bikini for Buffy when he first came over that morning and it was now sitting in the bottom of one of his duster pockets.

Passing Buffy a bundle of notes from his now almost depleted supply, Spike sent her to book the room. He slid over into the driver's seat. By some miracle they and his car seemed to have survived the two-hour trip, but that didn't mean he trusted Buffy's parallel parking.

Without him having said anything Buffy came back over to the passenger side after her trip to the office. 

"Room eight. Check out is ten thirty, assuming we don't need to stay longer."

"See what you feel like tomorrow, pet. Not like you have to go to work, and I dare say LA has more choice in the way of say… expensive white dresses than Sunnydale."

Spike drove over to park in front of the assigned room and climbed out of the car, grabbing their one case and the cooler from the trunk and waiting for Buffy to open the room door. Looking at the small case in his hand, he asked, "did you actually pack anything for me or is this all yours?"

Buffy scowled in return. "You've got the bag of toiletries you left at mine the other night, some socks, a pair of jeans, two spare shirts and a spare T-shirt."

"Bet you didn't pack my trunks."

"You bet right, but since you didn't mention there was a pool so that I knew to bring mine, you've only got yourself to blame. And I bet you don't even own a pair of trunks."

"Okay, so maybe they're really an old pair of jeans that I cut the legs off of when the knees got ripped but they do the job, and it's hardly fair for you to complain…" Spike pulled four triangles of material with a few ties from his pocket. "Especially when I got Dawn to find this for you."

Buffy slid her arms around him under the coat, thanking him without words. Spike leant down and kissed her softly on the tip of her nose.

"Go on, love. Go enjoy yourself. We've got a couple of hours yet before sundown. There probably is a nice shady entrance somewhere to Angel's place, but since we're going in the front way I reckon he can wait till dusk. Running in and trying to stamp out the flames from a burning blanket isn't the sort of entrance I want to make. I'll grab another forty winks, or I might just lie here and watch to make sure you don't attract any unwelcome attention. We can order pizza or something when you're done."

"No, it's okay. I'd feel guilty going swimming while you were stuck in here."

"Pet, there's only one of us is a vampire. And if you don't think I'd enjoy watching that gorgeous body of yours swimming up and down, all wet and nubile in that tiny little bikini then you don't know me very well. And I can watch fine from here as long as I stay in the front half of the room." Spike grabbed a couple of pillows and dropped them at the foot of the bed. Buffy realised that lying with his head at that end, he would be able to see the pool, or at least part of it. She remained undecided, her gaze flicking back and forth between the bikini which now lay on the bed, the pool and Spike, as he unhurriedly stripped off his duster, followed by his boots and socks, his shirt and his T-shirt. Finally he loosened the button on his jeans so that they rode on his hips and let himself flop onto the bed. 

"Is that as much of a show as I get? I thought the ring would entitle me to the full package."

"You're always entitled to the full package. The bitty people in the pool there aren't."

Buffy pulled shut the curtains screening off the patio doors and then for good measure she closed the ones at the front of the room as well.

"Swimming can wait until later. Till we can go together, when all the sensible people are in bed asleep. For just now why don't we both get a couple of hours sleep. Who knows what we're going to be getting ourselves into later?"

Buffy stripped off layers of clothing until she was left in a camisole top and a thong. She climbed onto the bed alongside him, squeezing her shoulder in between his arm and his body so she could use his chest for a pillow. Her top arm draped over his waist and her leg hooked over his nearest one, her foot resting between his shins. His hand came up unable to resist the urge to stroke the gold streaked hair of the girl beside him and soon the soothing motion caused her to drift off.

****

To be continued in chapter 2.04

Okay. Yeah, yeah, next chapter is the one where Spike and Buffy finally make it to the Hyperion, and you know what to do if you want to read it sooner rather than later.

The chapter after that is mostly Justine's rescue in the club, but of course things are bound to go just a little differently with the blonde duo about.

And the one after that… Buffy tackles Cordy in an effort to find out what's really been going on in the City of Angels, and when she does find out, boy, does she get angry.


	12. Angel City Ch 4

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

Large chunks of this chapter are directly based on Angel the series and some dialogue has been used with only minor adjustments. I make no claim to have written this and give full credit to the writer(s) of the relevant episode(s).

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

Thanks as usual to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. So far that's ello(), core013, smartie1685 and blondel.

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PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy have made it to LA, despite Buffy's lack of driving skills, and Buffy is grabbing a couple of hours sleep using our favourite vamp as a pillow while they wait for sundown to head for the Hyperion.

Cordy has told Angel that Buffy and Spike are coming but hasn't passed on the news of their engagement. Angel is still waiting to see if his prodigal son will return to the hotel of his own accord. Fred has adapted an army surplus Geiger counter in an effort to determine if anything else came through the portal after Connor/Stephen. (I know it doesn't follow general practice, but the Sunnydale duo are introduced to Angel's son by the name Stephen as this all happens around the time he is still using that name, so from their viewpoints that is his name, however confusing it gets to be. Rather than change back and forth between the two names, I've used Stephen throughout.)

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.04

Spike lay awake for some time wondering what the evening would bring, not knowing how he wanted it to play out. Cordelia's question about Dru, had given away the fact that she wasn't the family business Angel was dealing with, but that still left a wide range of options. Angel hadn't even been twenty when he had made his first childe, but he had never learned to look after them. He never seemed to care for them, always abandoning them to their own devices at the first sign of difficulty. It had always been an unhappy recipe in Spike's view.

Angelus alone with Darla, meant that he was the one who took the abuse. He was the one she vented her frustration on. He was beaten and tortured, though never as often or as badly as he treated his subordinates because in truth, a life as a whore had trained Darla to be submissive to the men around her. Angel was punished only when he overstepped his bounds, and yet he railed against it. So in one of her more indulgent moods Darla allowed him to create his first child when he was little more than a fledgling.

For a while it amused him to indulge his sadistic whims, but eventually a male childe would become a challenge to his authority. A female childe would take attention away from his sire making her jealous and bringing down her ire. Occasionally, a foursome would work for a time, but even so there would often be problems between Angelus and the other male in the group. A weak male would be hounded to death, killed by Angelus' demanding tests. A strong male would eventually be a challenge to him. Angelus showed no fondness for his progeny; rather they were a means to demonstrate his power, his ability to dominate at least some of those around him. If he must follow Darla's commands, others would follow his.

Dru's devotion to him amused him. Her feelings for Spike and his for her infuriated him and he had used them in his twisted games, making each beg for pain and indignity to be visited upon them in order to spare the other. Had Spike been Angelus' childe then one of them would have died before Spike took his first slayer, but Spike was held in line by threats against his dark princess, for try as he might he couldn't convince her to leave her abusive Daddy. They had opportunity enough. Whenever pursuit closed upon the group Darla and Angel were quick to abandon the others to their fate using them as bait. Always though Dru would insist they travel to the appointed meeting place or scour his favourite cities until they found her Daddy again. Always until he got his soul.

It seemed to Spike that on average the git managed to last about twenty years between one childe or pair of children and the next. That meant he had quite a few uncles and aunts, and more cousins than he could count though to be fair he included all of Angelus' descendants of his generation or subsequent generations as cousins. He hadn't met that many. The world was still a big place, but every couple of decades some stranger in a bar somewhere would have the scent of family. Hence his remark to Buffy about a cousin who was married to a regurgitating demon.

So if Angel had family business to attend to it could mean almost anything. The real problem was he probably had far more sympathy for whoever was on the other side of the business than he had for the Poof. Just let Angel start the fight and this could be settled once and for all.

His free hand snaked over the side of the bed and when his fingers made contact with leather he gripped it, hoisting his duster onto the bed and rummaging one-handed through the pockets until he managed to find his cigarettes and lighter. He smiled to himself as he realised that he was actually grateful for the tile floor, knowing Buffy would have disapproved of him flicking ash onto a motel carpet. You are so whipped. 

If it wasn't for her you could just catch the Poof on his own away from the cheerleader and the rest of his groupies, but then if it wasn't for her you'd probably be in New York, London or maybe Afghanistan. Nothing quite like a religious war, but then it wasn't as if he needed mayhem and corpses to cover his feeding any more, was it? Maybe Russia? He hadn't been there since before the revolution. How much of that unique architecture was still there? Living was probably cheap and winter nights long. Maybe he could start in India, pass through Afghanistan and up into Russia back through Eastern Europe maybe see if Drac was home.

Instead here he was killing time till he could confront his grandsire, bound by a promise that he wouldn't start a fight. Slayer had better realise that didn't mean he was going to curb his tongue. He hadn't specifically said anything, but she had to know that that would be too much to ask. He lay there for a minute listening to her heartbeat and her breathing, and knew it was worth it. There were almost no limits to the things he would do for her, but it was going to be a long couple of hours.

* * * * *

**__**

Tuesday Evening

Spike strode through the revolving door into the lobby of the Hyperion, hefting a duffel bag full of weapons in his left hand, elbow bent so that the bag rested against his shoulder. A second later Buffy followed him through. In Buffy's case it may have been by accident, but in Spike's case the all black look was definitely by design. His "pimp" necklace, as Dawn called it, was missing, as was the silver bracelet he sometimes wore, since both could potentially be used against him in a fight. His rings, many with nice sharp edges, however, adorned his hands. He'd decided to forego his normal over-shirt too, something else an opponent could grasp hold of.

Buffy had simply gone for black leather pants to match her new coat and a black camisole, topped by a sheer black over-shirt which she knotted loosely at the front instead of buttoning. Throw in the big bag of weapons and the overall effect was sort of Keanu and Carrie Moss on Peroxide.

"They're up on the mezzanine." Spike could easily hear the voices including a soft female one with a Texan? accent explaining something about Geiger counters? Angel's scent permeated the whole building but underneath he was aware of the scent of several others. Spike became aware of running footsteps, Angel's footsteps and he watched as Angel launched himself through one of the arches, landing faultlessly in the foyer below.

"Or they were." Angel had reacted exactly as Spike expected when he caught wind of his grandchilde and a freshly wounded slayer together. The elder vampire paused long enough when he hit the ground to take in the prominent wound on Buffy's neck and the lack of a matching wound on Spike's.

Angel dropped automatically into demon form and the accent of his youth. "Ye always were an arrogant little bastard, weren't you, William?" He advanced toward the blond in a fighting stance. "Couldn't wait te show off your little trophy could ye? Well, ye never did know when to cut and run, did ya? And this time ye're goin' ta pay with yer miserable existence."

"If you think you're demon enough to make me, you've forgotten about the help you needed just to get out alive the last time we met, Peaches."

Buffy wondered exactly what that little comment meant, she watched as Angel lunged forward, only to have Spike swing the weapons bag round and up into his jaw, before he slid it across the floor to Buffy. A spinning kick followed while the older vampire was still off balance, catching him perfectly on the side of his ear and hopefully causing damage to his inner ear.

"Yeah, well, he's got more help now than he had before," Cordy's voice drifted down from the balcony, where she leant against the bottom of the arch, steadying the aim on her crossbow. Next to her Gunn also took aim on the blond's heart.

"A reception committee, just for me? Princess, you shouldn't have." Spike countered. He would have made a comment about the hair but his mother had brought him up to not say anything at all if he couldn't say something nice. He made a lot of exceptions, but drew the line at telling a beautiful woman that she'd massacred one of her best features.

Angel took advantage of Spike's distraction, driving his shoulder into his stomach and bearing him to the ground, where pinned by the heavier man his speed was of little use. Cordy and Gunn relaxed their aim unable to get a clear shot at the younger vamp without endangering Angel. Just in case Buffy moved to stand between them and the vamps anyway. "Hey! If I don't get to interfere, you guys sure as hell don't get to fire stakes at my f—… my friend when Angel started it."

Spike drove his forehead up into Angel's nose, starting a nosebleed and followed up with a right hook into Angel's ear, the one he hadn't kicked, again trying to disrupt his balance so he could throw off the bigger man.

"No point being shy now, pet. Might as well give the rest of them the full story." Angel managed to pin both of Spike's arms and raised himself up enough that Spike couldn't get any more head-butts in. In desperation Spike brought a knee up before Angel could establish dominance, and was lucky enough to catch the other vampire in a very delicate area. Angel instinctively rolled into a ball at one side of the blond, and Spike flipped to his feet. He grasped the brunette's wrist and in one fluid motion stepped across to straddle the older vamp and pulled his arm behind his back forcing him down face first into the floor. Finally, Spike morphed into demon face and knelt on Angel's shoulders ready to administer the bite to his grandsire that would establish once and for all that he had dominance over him. There was normally a bit more to the ritual, but Spike figured even the Poof would concede defeat rather than force Spike to take him there in the hotel lobby in front of the assembled audience. Behind him Spike could hear Angel's cronies piling down the stairs, but he knew Buffy wouldn't let any of them interfere.

Spike's teeth bit down into the join of Angel's neck and shoulder. The Irishman struggled under him but was unable to wrestle his way free. The wound would be a messy one. Spike bit down harder, anxious to draw a reasonable amount of blood as quickly as possible and Angel struggled even more, sure Spike meant to drain him before he could expose the blond for holding Buffy in thrall. After a couple of seconds, that seemed to last for minutes Spike raised his head morphing back into human form straight away.

He leant over, whispering in Angel's ear. "You best concede or my fiancée and your minions are going to see a side of vampire etiquette I think we'd both prefer they didn't."

"Fuck off, boy!" the older vampire squirmed beneath him trying to goad him into a mistake and Spike's head exploded in a mess of bright stars as he dropped limply to the floor.

Alerted by the sudden sound of movements behind her Buffy turned to see Angel, blood seeping from his nose and from a ragged neck wound and a teenage boy pulling a wickedly sharp knife.

Everything happened at once. Angel realised the reason for his sudden freedom and saw Stephen kneel using his downward momentum to power his knife thrust as he aimed for Spike's throat. He wasn't carrying a stake, but there was no need to when beheading works just as well. Buffy was also aware of the youth's attack and she ran up and launched herself at the boy feet first. Angel's shout of "No-o-o-o-o-o!" echoing in her ears as she flew through the air. She was never sure even afterward if Angel meant to stop her or the boy.

She managed to knock the knife from the boy's hand, but her necessarily low trajectory meant she landed on the floor. Instead of trying to regain her feet she scrambled back to lie diagonally over Spike's torso, shielding his heart and his neck, ready to defend herself with her legs if need be.

A hand fumbled with the left sleeve of Spike's duster. "I don't know who you are, but you're getting involved in something you don't understand." Buffy aimed her words at the teenager who seemed reluctant to attack her as yet. "If Spike had wanted Angel dead, he would be dead already." She pulled the stake from Spike's sleeve using her fingertips. "He'll have at least another two of these in easy reach and if he could do that, then you can bet he could have used them a lot faster. Not to mention the fact that the bag he slid across to me at the start of the fight has all his favourite toys in it. Axes, swords, shotgun, the whole nine yards."

Angel's face registered shock at the truth behind Buffy's words. Not only had Spike beaten him in a fair fight, not something he would admit out loud but he had also passed up the opportunity to kill him. 

Somewhere in the background Lorne cleared his throat in a meaningful way. 

"Well if that ends the festivities for today…" he moved round to offer Buffy a hand, which after taking a second to notice its unusual colour, she took. "Maybe we can take your …friend over to the couch and Angel can make with the introductions. Like the ring by the way. Indian? …as in from India not Native American." He reached down grasping Spike under one arm. Buffy grabbed the other and they pulled him over to the blue-grey circular couch and laid him out on the seat.

"Possibly. You'd have to ask the unconscious one."

"It's Indian." Angel's voice was thick with anger. "His great-grandfather met his wife when he was serving in the army there, before his elder brother was killed and he inherited everything." His voice softened as he changed topic.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Stephen. Stephen, this is Fred, Gunn, Cordelia, the guy helping move the corpse is Lorne and our two visitors are Buffy and William." Buffy tried to put stories to the faces, but other than Gunn she drew a blank. Obviously the LA to Sunnydale grapevine wasn't working that efficiently. She and Angel hadn't really touched on the other people in their lives the last time they met up, but she felt like she was standing in a room full of strangers.

"Cordy, why don't you and Buffy catch up on what everybody's been doing? Stephen and I will take the office. I'll catch up with Buffy later."

"That would be because I already told her it was your place to tell her everything, Brood Boy." Cordy muttered beneath her breath. "Fine, we'll have a regular party out here. You have fun."

"Knew it wasn't just me that noticed the brooding." Buffy couldn't resist thinking that it was typical for Spike's mouth to be working before he even got as far as sitting up. "How's life treating Queen C these days?"

"Pretty good. Let's see, since I saw you last, I've travelled to another dimension, which is where we met Fred. They made me a princess. I fell in love with a Champion. We freed all the slaves and beat the evil priests. I came back here and left him to rule. The visions almost killed me, long story, short version the Powers made me part demon so I'd be strong enough to keep them. The people in Pylea decided they wanted a democracy so Groo left then to it and came here to find me and hopefully we're somewhere in the living happily ever after stage.

Where is Groo?"

"He went for a walk, cup cake," Lorne supplied. "Around ten this morning."

Spike's eyes flew to meet those of the green demon, as did Buffy's. Lorne's eyes flicked briefly in the direction of the office and Spike noticed the youth for the first time, he also recognised the almost familiar scent that was present now but hadn't been before he was knocked unconscious.

"I'm guessing by the eau de Darla permeating the atmosphere, that the kid in the office is that family business you were talking about on the phone. Looks like Angel's finally got himself a little brother, and I thought he'd put the wicked witch off for life. Bit young. He's never gonna be able to stay in one place longer than a year or two or it's gonna be too damn obvious when he doesn't age."

"Oh, he ages. He ages like you would not believe." Spike raised an eyebrow in Gunn's direction.

"Ah think that's our cue to go try this thing outside. Check the perimeter. You guys have fun catching up." Gunn took Fred's hand and they both left the hotel.

"So," asked Lorne, "How do you know Darla?"

"Depends how you look at it. She's either me sister or me great-grandma."

"ANGEL… BUFFY…" Cordy shouted. "It's a bar! Vampires. A gang of them!" Cordy cupped her hand behind her ear. "Buffy, can you hear me?" Angel emerged from the office rushing to the seer. "I can see her. A woman. Angel! She's all alone. She doesn't see them. Buffy, you have to hurry!"

Angel moved to stand directly in front of the seer and gripped her upper arms. "Slow down."

Spike snorted. "Two hundred and change and he can't tell the difference between loud and fast."

He picked up the bag of weapons from the floor. "I'll go start the car, slayer. You come on out when you've got an address."

"Will." Buffy threw him the stake she had removed from his sleeve before. He caught it without altering his stride and had it back in place before he got as far as the door.

Cordy looked about her as if the vision had cleared and she had just returned to the hotel. "There is a woman at a bar. There is a gang of vampires that are after her. You have to help her."

Angel looked over to where Stephen had emerged from the office. "Listen, uhm, –I –I, ah, have to go out for a while."

"It's okay." Stephen circled round toward the door the entire time he and his father were talking, every word, every pause brought him closer to the doors.

"It's kinda my job." Angel sounded apologetic.

"Yeah. Whatever."

"It could be kinda dangerous. There's a lot of killing and violence. You wanna come?" Stephen was now nearer the door than his father. He stopped and looked back at the vampire.

"Great," said Buffy. "You got an address for this big family outing?"

****

To be continued in chapter 2.05

In 2.05 the club scene redux

In 2.06 Buffy finds out some of the back story from Cordy and sets out to right what she sees as the iniquities perpetrated by the LA group

In 2.07 find out how the presence of Spike and Buffy changes the outcome of events at Holtz's motel

More reviews = quicker chapters


	13. Angel City Ch 5

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Merry Christmas to anyone reading this.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

Large chunks of this chapter are directly based on Angel the series and some dialogue has been used with only minor adjustments. I make no claim to have written this and give full credit to the writer(s) of the relevant episode(s).

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Angel and Spike had a bit of a scuffle, with Spike coming out on top, at least until Stephen intervened, knocking Spike out. On recovering consciousness Spike became aware of an element of Darla's scent and came to the conclusion that Angel had a little brother, which in a twisted incestuous way, I suppose he had, it just happened to also be his son.

Cordy had a vision of Justine being attacked by vampires, and it looks like Buffy is on her way to sort things out along with all the male scions of Aurelius currently in the LA area, but first Spike might have a question or two… 

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.05

"Okay, Peaches, are you goin' to tell me and the missus just what is goin' on round here?"

Angel hesitated before answering. "Cordy gets visions from the Powers That Be. She got a vision of a woman in a bar being attacked by—"

The car pulled up at a red light. "That isn't what I mean, Poofter, and you know it. Now are you going to tell me why junior here smells every bit as much like you as he does Darla? And more to the point, how come he's got a heartbeat?"

"Spike, this isn't the time." Angel spoke tersely hoping his tone would deter his grandchilde from further questions, instead as Spike returned his attention to navigating the LA streets Buffy took up his line of questioning.

"No, I think now is the perfect time, Angel. We've got a few minutes before we're going to get to that bar, even the way Will drives. So why don't you tell us? And while you're doing it why don't you tell us what you did with your tame watcher? Cordy seemed to think telling me what happened to him was your job too."

"Alright. Stephen is my son, mine and Darla's, not our childe, our son.—"

"And when we were going out you neglected to mention you had a son the same age as my sister because, say, you really didn't want to worry me with little details like birth control…"

"Because he wasn't born till a couple of months ago. It's this whole prophecy thing." Buffy turned in her seat, eyebrow raised in a manner that reminded him far too much of his grandchilde.

"He was born a couple of months ago, and then he was kidnapped and taken to a hell dimension. Wesley was instrumental in the kidnapping, that is why he's no longer welcome at the hotel. As I'm sure you remember from your visit to one, time flows slightly differently in these places. To us he was kidnapped last week, to him it's been considerably longer."

"So that makes it less than a year since you and Darla… Did you go evil again and not tell us?" Buffy pressed him.

"No, that is I went through a bit of a rough patch, but I didn't lose my soul."

"This would be round the time you locked Dru and Darla in a cellar with a bunch of lawyers, and then felt so guilty about it afterwards that you set them on fire. Did you wait till her burns had healed before you slept with her?" Buffy wasn't about to let up.

"Yes, her burns had healed. Look this isn't something I want to explain in front of my son. I'm not proud of what happened. All that he needs to know is that in the end Darla loved him enough that she died so that he could be born."

Spike snorted.

"I know what you think but when she was pregnant it was like she had a soul, because Stephen was inside her, she could love, she loved him. He couldn't be born naturally so she dusted herself so that he could live."

"We're there, kiddies." Spike stepped on the brakes. "Story time's over, for now."

* * * * *

Lilah and Wesley stood on the balcony looking down at the bar off to the side of the crowded dance-floor. Lilah spoke condescendingly to the former watcher. "…I just needed to know whether or not I was wasting my time. And to prove we're still friends. I'll have her pulled out of there before anything _really_ lethal happens. That way you don't have to torture yourself as to whether or not you did the right thing."

Wes saw movement on the floor below, a block of people in black leather moved as one through the dancers on the floor, accompanied by a youth Wes hasn't seen before. He took a step closer to the railing and watched the scene unfold. "I don't think that will be necessary."

Lilah stepped up next to him and looked down to see Angel along with a shorter man, a youth and a young woman, none of whom she recognised.

Angel turned to his son as they walked through the crowd followed by the two blondes. "Well, you wanted to kill a vampire. This might be your chance." He passed him a stake, keeping the movement as unobtrusive as possible. "Here, take this. It's a bit easier than trying to behead someone with a six-inch blade. Just make sure when you use that thing that you go straight for—"

"The heart. I know. My father taught me," Stephen interrupted.

"Yeah," answered his biological father. "I'm sure he did. Look, there are a lot of innocent people in here. Just don't go nailing anybody until they show their game face, okay?"

"Will it look like yours and his did?"

"Yeah." Angel looked across to the bar and recognised Justine.

"So why do you do it?" Stephen's nod included not only his father but Spike.

"Do what?" asked the brunette.

"Why kill them if they're like you?"

"They're not like me, Connor. That's a question for him." Angel tilted his head back over toward Spike.

"I'm not Connor."

Buffy's "spider-sense" was tingling. She counted three including the bartender around the woman that Angel seemed to have noticed at the bar and more interspersed throughout the crowd. With the slightest tilt of her head she and Spike split off toward the bar.

"Ready for another?" the bartender asked the redhead. She was half off her barstool, looking past Buffy and Spike as they approached, so Buffy's guess was that somehow she had picked up on Angel. 

She turned back slightly to answer the question. "No, I'm done."

The bartender and the two men who had been sitting on either side of her vamped out, the barman grabbing her the arm. "You're not wrong," he said.

"She thinks she's a slayer," one of the vamps beside her remarked. There was a tap on his shoulder.

"Actually, that would be me." Buffy smiled brightly as she staked the gawking vamp. Spike meanwhile vaulted the bar just as the bartender pulled Justine up onto the counter. A stake appeared from out of Spike's sleeve. 

"Too bad you're not going to be around long enough to get her autograph," Spike quipped before he drove a stake through his back and into his heart. Justine's struggles managed to knock the third vamp back toward the centre of the dance-floor and Angel deftly spun him round and impaled him on his stake. Stephen watched as he turned to dust.

Buffy pulled Justine down off the counter and pushed her in the direction of the exit. "Go, get your ass out of here, and in future leave the job to the professionals." 

Spike picked up a bottle of bourbon and placed it on the countertop in case he had a chance to retrieve it later, before vaulting back onto his original side of the bar again. He and Buffy fell into a perfectly synchronised run back toward the centre of the room. Three vamps moved to close in on Angel who now stood in the middle of a clear space on the dance-floor. Before they could reach him Stephen ran toward him and with an impressive jump landed next to him, taking up a position at his back. Spike and Buffy fell in behind them so that the four made up the sides of a square.

Two went for Angel, one choosing Stephen as the easy option, or so he thought.

"We got any more incomin' or is this it, slayer?"

"There are a couple of shy ones." One of the two on Angel, heard the word slayer and decided to make a bolt for the door. Spike noted that Buffy was using the rather non-aerodynamic Mr Pointy and tossed her one of his stakes. 

Seeing two coming in toward the slayer from the opposite side he took a diving roll under her line of sight to come to his feet right in front of the surprised pair. "My guess, you two would be the ones with confidence issues." Spike caught one with a left-handed jab to the nose, which he followed with a roundhouse kick to the temple before grabbing the vamp by the collar and throwing him toward Buffy. 

Buffy flipped her new stake in her hand and launched it with an expert aim catching the retreating vampire, square through the heart. The stake fell to the ground and was scooped up by someone at the edge of the crowd. Buffy snapped out a forward kick to land on the jaw of the unfortunate that Spike sent her way, straightening him up long enough for her to drive Mr Pointy through his ribcage and into his heart.

"So did you want this one, pet, or should I just play with him for a bit?" Spike asked as he caught the remaining vamp behind the knee with a low roundhouse kick knocking him off balance. 

Buffy noticed the teenager despatch his opponent with apparent ease. "I think maybe you should give him to Stephen. Looks like we missed a few birthdays. Time we made up for it."

"As you wish, pet. Kid! Wanna play?" As he spoke Spike continued to deliver blows that were enough to disorientate his opponent and prevent him mounting an attack of his own. Once he was sure Stephen was aware of the incoming threat, Spike sent the vamp sprawling in his direction. 

He turned to watch Stephen in his fight, moving to a position where he could easily intervene if it looked like the boy might be injured, but not about to interfere unless the boy looked like he needed or wanted help. Buffy moved to stand next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder as she also looked on.

"A little help here, guys?" Angel asked. Buffy shrugged and stepped up behind Angel's admittedly skilful opponent, staking him whilst her ex had him distracted. Angel was just about to move to help his son when Stephen swept his opponent to the floor and staked him by himself.

"Were you actually thinking of helping there or were you just going to let my son get hurt?" Angel glowered at the white-blond vamp.

Spike snorted. "Your son was in no danger of getting hurt. As soon as we were down to less than one each he started playing with 'im. He could have dusted 'im five minutes back if he'd wanted to. Kid's damn good."

Up on the balcony, Lilah watched the blondes at the bar.

"Angel been recruiting lately?"

"Hardly. I thought your firm would have done enough research on Angel's background for you to recognise that pair. I don't see why I should give you any hints." Wes looked on captivated by how the pair moved together as if one knew what the other were thinking. With any luck Lilah would have her people looking for a pair of fighters who Angel had known in the past, rather than two separate fighters who had become a pair.

The focus of the fight shifted to the centre of the room and Stephen's fighting skills became apparent.

Lilah couldn't help asking, "who's the Boy Wonder? He moves just like—"

"His father," Wes finished for her, the similarity obvious as the two stood side by side.

As the fight drew to a close, Lilah looked up from the dance-floor. "Now tell me your not interested," she said, before she realised she was talking to the air.

Buffy slid her arms around Spike's waist, lulling him into a false sense of security. "Did I see you setting up a bottle of bourbon on the bar so you could steal it when the fight was over?"

"Yeah, Ah did." Spike smiled brightly and tried to move toward the bar to retrieve said item before anyone else did, only to find himself working against the power of slayer strength. Realisation suddenly dawned. "Ahh, Sorry, pet. I forgot. Force of habit. You can punish me later in private, so I don't forget again."

"Hmmph, that might make sense if I could think of something that would punish you without punishing me at the same time. Unless I stop you from watching England's World Cup matches," Buffy threatened.

"Would hardly warrant that even if I took the bloody bourbon, slayer. For any decent Englishman that would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. It's in the Geneva Convention. Not allowed."

"Since when have you been a prisoner of war."

"And what else do you call it, love? Haven't been my own man in years." Spike's words were low and laced with honey.

The couple made their way to the back door of the club, pausing in the doorway to watch Angel and Stephen mock sparring in the back alley.

"So you think the kid's good?" Buffy cast an appraising eye over the pair.

"Reckon he's got a damn sight more natural talent than his father. Whoever taught him's not bad, but they were no Giles. A few pointers off Cro Magnon there and he'll be even better."

"Praise indeed. If I didn't know better I'd say you liked him."

"Well, can't say as I've heard him open his mouth yet, but it's not like the kid can help who his parents are. As somebody who lived through twenty years in that household, I kinda feel sorry for the poor bugger," Spike responded. "If it was still Angelus that was around and not the Poof, I'd say whoever kidnapped him did him a favour."

"I wouldn't let him hear you say that," Buffy cautioned. 

"Before Robin, there, interfered I think I pretty much earned the right to say what the hell I want, at least I assume it was the kid that knocked me out."

"It was the kid, and I want to know what that bit about vampire etiquette that I'm not supposed to know is."

"Bloody slayer hearing. I think you'll find that neither me nor the Poof are prepared to tell you."

"We'll see… Let's head back. I want to talk to Cordelia some more before I leave."

"I doubt she'll be able to tell you either."

"Not about that, maybe…"

The couple took a wide berth round the father and son, not noticing the old man watching from a fire escape up above the alley. When the kid ran past them Spike just thought he was in a hurry to get to the car, or, God forbid, the Brood Monster had lightened up enough to give him a race. When he ran past the car and disappeared into the distance Spike looked back to see what his grandsire's reaction would be. Spike vowed to have some champagne sent to the hotel as soon as he could. The dour old git was actually smiling, a proper decent smile, not one of those half smiles he used to manage once in a blue moon.

"Slayer wants to talk to Vision Girl some more. Think she'll still be around when we drop you back at the hotel?" Spike asked.

"Probably, she likes to hang around until she knows how these things work out. Besides, I think it's time you and I had a nice private chat," the older vampire replied.

Spike turned to Buffy. "Slayer, tell him which order the teeth marks and the engagement ring came in."

"Engagement ring first, teeth marks a few hours later."

"Now tell him why there isn't a matching set on my neck."

"We're waiting on Giles doing some research to make sure the bond won't leave me needing SPF 3000, or allergic to holy water or anything like that," Buffy replied. "Otherwise, you bet I'd get my own back." 

"Last time you were enthralled by a vampire, did you know what was going on."

"Well, I didn't know what it was at first, but yeah, I knew it was something and then I found out it was thrall." Buffy wondered how many more of these questions Spike was going to ask.

"How long did it last?"

"Until I tasted his blood."

"Have I ever tried to use a thrall or anything similar on you?" Spike probed.

"No. You'd class that as cheating."

"You don't think that maybe I'm so good at it you don't know what's happening?"

"Yeah, like you'd be better at it than Dracula, besides I bit you hard enough to draw blood on Sunday night. I'd have noticed it being weakened if nothing else," Buffy derided the very premise on which the question was based.

"The defence rests." Spike turned from Buffy to Angel. "Still want that private talk or have we covered everything except the empty threat?"

"It wouldn't be an empty threat."

"Yeah, right. Red or the watcher would do me months before you even knew what was happening. And I wouldn't be able to fight back against either of them. Chip doesn't stop me kicking your ass."

"How did you manage to claim Buffy if that chip's still working?" Angel looked for the hole in Spike's arguments that he knew must exist somewhere.

"It would appear that since she was resurrected Buffy's a bit more special than your average human." Spike's explanation was rather more diplomatic than the one he had given Buffy.

"So you can hurt her?" the older vamp questioned the pair.

"Wouldn't be much good as her sparring partner otherwise," Spike responded, his smirk hinting at more layers of meaning than the obvious. "We done yet?"

"Yeah, for now." The older vamp gave his grudging agreement.

"Good." Spike started the car and headed toward the hotel.

****

To be continued in chapter 2.06


	14. Angel City Ch 6

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy turned up at the Hyperion. Angel attacked Spike thinking he had Buffy under a thrall. Spike kicked his butt, but then Stephen sneaked up behind him and knocked him out. Cordy had a vision of Justine being attacked by vampires and the Sunnydale pair and Angel and his son put personal issues aside long enough to deal with the threat, providing some entertainment for Lilah and Wesley her prospective recruit. Once the fight was over Stephen ran off on his own and the remaining three headed back towards the hotel, where Buffy was apparently keen to speak to Cordy. (There's a first time for everything.) 

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.06

When they got back to the hotel Buffy cornered Cordelia in the office, while Spike was left to be entertained by Lorne, which was fine by him because Lorne knew his way round the hotel's liquor supply. Angel headed straight for his room. 

"Look, Cordelia, Angel gave me the Cliff Notes version of what was going on. What I want to know is, what's the deal with Wes? Angel wasn't real forthcoming and I've got too used to dealing with Spike where he comes on out and says what's on his mind. I don't have time or patience to try to wheedle what I want to know out of Angel, so spill."

"Wes found a prophesy that said Angel was going to kill Connor. Wolfram & Hart got to Angel's blood supply and dosed it with Conn—"

"Who is Connor?"

"Those must have been really short Cliff Notes. Connor is Angel's son. Stephen is the name Holtz gave him," Cordy explained

"Holtz being the guy who kidnapped him, right?"

"Anyway, so the lawyers tampered with Angel's blood and mixed in some of Connor's blood that they must have stolen from the hospital."

"The point of that being…" Buffy wondered what this had to do with Wes.

"To make Connor smell like food to Angel. By the time we realised what the problem was Angel had to keep his distance a bit from the kid, which if you saw him the rest of the time you would know was nearly impossible for him.

Wes translated this ancient prophesy that said Angel would kill his son, but instead of telling anyone he just offered to look after the kid overnight. It was only because Lorne picked up on his singing when he was trying to keep the baby quiet as he packed up that we found out what he was going to do, but that was only after we found Lorne knocked unconscious when we got back from somewhere else.

By the time we went after him, Wes was already lying on the grass outside his apartment block with his throat slit from ear to ear and Holtz had the baby. Angel caught up with Holtz about the same time the Wolfram & Hart's combat squad hit the scene. Holtz's demon friend created a rip in the fabric of the universe and Holtz went through it to Quor-toth while Angel was busy dealing with Lilah and her guys.

Fred and Gunn found Wes' notes and realised why he'd done what he did, but it took them till the next morning to find Wes himself. Somebody had gone through his pockets and then moved him where he was less likely to be noticed. They had him taken to hospital and they explained to Angel about the prophecy, which we later found out was false and planted by the same time travelling non-corporeal demon that was helping Holtz. Angel went to see Wes in the hospital. They had to pull him off him. He tried to smother him while he was still flat on his back."

"So the guy made a judgement call and got it wrong, and now he's supposed to walk away from everyone he knows. From everything he's helped build up over the last two and a half years? Have any of you been to see him? Do you even know if he's out of hospital?"

"Fred took some of his things that he'd left in the office over to his apartment and told him not to come back. Gunn went to him behind Angel's back for help when Fred's life was in danger and he made it clear that he would only help that one time, he wasn't going to be there for us again."

"So it's like a divorce case, only Angel gets all the friends and his job and Wes is left with no income and no-one to care whether he lives or dies."

"He hurt Angel. And he helped those people deprive him of his son's childhood." Cordelia's voice hardened.

"He did what he thought he had to, to protect the kid. He was wrong. Don't you think having his throat slit and having someone try to smother him might be punishment enough? Don't you people understand there's two sides to an argument? I can see that expecting Angel to come round might be a bit much to ask, but how could the rest of you all just fall into line as if none of you have ever made a mistake in your lives.

I tried to kill Xander and Willow and my kid sister and they all forgave me. The guy just did the best he could with the information he had. Get me his address."

Cordy flicked the Rolodex on the desk and then pulled out a card from it and held it out toward Buffy.

"What're you going to do?" she asked keeping hold of her side of the card until Buffy answered.

"See if I can get him a second chance."

Buffy strode out of the office, coat and hair flowing behind her, a picture of righteous indignation.

Spike knocked back the rest of his drink and tossed the empty glass to Lorne. "Looks like we're on the move." He fell in next to his beloved without even bothering to ask where they were going.

* * * * *

Spike manoeuvred the car easily through the traffic. The directions on the card were plain and concise and he had no trouble following them. Buffy meanwhile was attempting to use up Spike's mobile phone credit at the fastest possible rate.

"Buffy, it's half five in the morning there. Rupert is not going to be best chuffed if you ring him now."

"I'm not going to go to Wes and tell him _maybe_ I can get him a shit job and he _might_ be able to whatever. If the best I can do is get him a job in the magic shop then I at least want to be able to tell him outright now. The guy made a mistake, now there's not one of them stayed in touch, just go looking for him when they needed him, and he's lost his job. One mistake and they've taken away his whole life."

"Getting a bit excited about the whole thing aren't you, love?"

"It just pisses me off. It's like that crowd Cordy used to run with in high school. All hanging on her every word. Whatever she thought, they thought. Only now it's what Angel thinks. Angel doesn't like Wes so Wes all but gets run out of town. Angel tried to kill him, tried to smother him in his hospital bed, but that was Angel and he'd just lost his child so that was fine by everybody."

"Take a deep breath and count to ten, then speak to Rupert."

Buffy took his advice. The phone rang for a considerable length of time before it was answered.

"Buffy, do you know what time it is over here? I'm not here solely to resolve your romantic problems." Giles' voice took on that tone he used when he was irritated but trying patiently to explain something to someone of lower intellectual capacity.

"How did you know it was me? And half past five in the morning?"

"Precisely. I sincerely hope you're not about to tell me you just discovered that you're having a reaction to holy water, although I trust it is something along those lines of magnitude for you to be calling me at this hour."

"How do I put this? You know these annoying phone calls you get at half five in the morning? If we had someone in Sunnydale with say… watcher type experience, then we might not have to make so many of them."

"Yes, I'm sure. Your point being?"

"Angel and Wesley have had a bit of a falling out. The long and short is that no-one is talking to Wes and he hasn't got a job any more. I thought that maybe we could pinch him, if say there was a job waiting for him in Sunnydale. I mean Will- Spike can cope with Latin but Wes is going to know loads of languages and stuff we don't. He could really speed up our research times and save us having to pester you, but it doesn't seem fair asking him to move without at least a job offer."

"You want me to offer Wesley Wyndham-Price a job at The Magic Box?"

"Well, duh."

"And that's why you rang me at five thirty in the morning?"

"I kinda wanted to go see him straight away. In fact, we're pulling up outside his flat now, and I don't know how long we'll be in LA and if I left it till it was an okay time to ring you it would be too late to visit him tonight."

"Yes, Buffy."

"Is that yes he can have a job?" Buffy almost bounced in her seat.

"Yes, give him my number and get him to ring at a civilised hour if he's interested and we'll sort out the details and I'll contact Anya."

"Thank you, Giles. Have I told you lately what a nice person you are and how much I love you?"

"Not for some time." Buffy could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hey, I've been practising. Will doesn't have to be the only one to reap the benefit. We'll ring you at a civilised hour when we're back in Sunnydale. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too, Buffy."

* * * * *

The two blondes stood outside the apartment door. Buffy's fiery mood having got the pair of them so far, seemed to have failed her.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Buffy asked, suddenly nervous about taking such a pushy role in the life of someone who had been, theoretically at least, an authority figure. She held Spike's right hand in her left and her thumb traced backwards and forwards over his palm not as a caress but as a sign of her nervousness.

"Don't know, love. Never met the bloke. Can't say how he'll take it and I can't say how he'll get on with everyone. I can say we could use someone with a bit more of that sort of background and I'll be pleased if the watcher stops lookin' to me to be the adult in charge of the kindergarten. I'm fed up of getting' the blame for not stoppin' that lot when they do somethin' stupid, as if they'd listen to me in the first place.

There's only one way to find out, pet." Buffy gave his hand a quick squeeze drawing comfort just from his presence and knocked on the door.

They waited for some time, but there was no response.

"Bugger this for a game of soldiers." Spike used his fist to bray repeatedly on the door, the noise soon followed by some high volume questioning.

"What the bloody hell have English manners come to when a supposed gentleman leaves a lady stood outside his door while he sits inside munchin' on…" Spike sniffed. "… pizza flavour soddin' Dori—" The door to the flat opened to reveal a rather dishevelled Wes still wearing the same clothes he had on in the club except for the jacket. "…Tos?" Spike concluded at a normal conversational level, his free hand running swiftly through his blond locks.

"Buffy and if I'm not mistaken Spike. This is a surprise." Wes's tone was cool and he made no move to invite either of them in.

Buffy shrugged. "We were in town. Thought I'd renew old acquaintances."

Spike could almost see the former watcher trying to come to a decision. "Maybe this isn't the place, pet? Could be Wes here knows a decent pub nearby?" he suggested, giving the watcher an easy way out.

"You're right. I do. Perhaps we should adjourn. I'll just fetch my jacket," Wes replied. He disappeared out of sight behind the door, only to return a few minutes later wearing a heavy black wool casual jacket.

The three walked out of the apartment block in silence before Spike broke the embarrassed silence. "Heard the Poof and you weren't on best of terms."

"If you mean Angel, then I believe that would be a euphemistic turn of phrase," was Wes's dry response. 

"Poof… yeah, there's plenty worse things I could and have called him in my time, but not in front of a lady."

The two men eyed each other up and down. Spike had been led to expect Giles jnr. with a better suit, but without the Ripper element. Instead he was pretty sure the man in front of him could handle himself. He had no false airs, although from his upper class accent, he obviously came from a privileged background. He could appreciate his dry wit. Spike was definitely warming to the idea of having the other Englishman around. Now if they had the same idea as to what constituted a decent pub, they were definitely in business.

"Buffy," Wes prompted gently. "I must say that I'm surprised given the nature of our previous relationship that you would get in touch."

"I never had a problem with you personally, just the Council indoctrination and the prig-like tendencies that go with. Seems to me Quentin wouldn't approve of you now," Buffy argued.

Spike snorted. "She means that as a compliment. Coming from her they're few and far between so make the most of it, mate."

"I meant that he seems to have changed but that the changes all seem to be for the good. And who says I'm mean with the compliments. It's just _you_ don't do much to deserve any," Buffy countered though her tone was far from serious.

Spike raised that scarred eyebrow, and when Buffy glanced over in his direction he ran the tip of his tongue over his gleaming white upper teeth. Just the gesture was enough to set off a tingle low in her stomach and she flushed scarlet as she remembered the effusive encouragement that seemed to flow from her in torrents when his head lay between her legs. Having achieved his goal Spike pulled his cigarette pack from his pocket and flicking the top open he ducked his head to the packet to draw one out between his lips rather than release Buffy's hand. He reached across Buffy and held the pack out in Wes's direction before returning the pack to his pocket and pulling out his lighter.

Wes looked over at the couple. From what he'd seen so far, it seemed certain that the two shared a very intimate relationship, especially if the marks on the slayer's neck weren't the result of a recent skirmish gone awry, and having viewed their performance in the club that was doubtful.

"You'll pardon me if I say that you both seem far closer than I would expect Rupert to be pleased about," Wes commented.

"Can't imagine that I'd be his first choice," Spike admitted, "but he can't be too brassed off considerin' he's agreed to give away the bride."

"You're engaged?" Wes was unable to hide his surprise.

The couple raised their joined hands and tilted them till Wes could see the ring. "S'why we're in this neck of the woods to begin with. Reckoned it was better to head off the Avenging Angel before he heard some fifth-hand tale and came swoopin' into Sunnydale."

"And did the plan work?"

"Let's say Angel's sporting a mark not dissimilar to the slayer's, but I've got a nice lump on the top of me 'ead where 'is kid knocked me out, so we both get to claim we didn't lose. He's keepin' 'is trap shut for now so I suppose it's as much as we dare hope for." As he spoke the last few words the group moved through the doors into a smoky dimly lit bar. Spike grinned as they moved deeper into the bar.

"What's got you so happy?" Buffy asked.

"Music. Any pub that has that mad pissed bugger on the juke box can't be all bad." Buffy didn't recognise the song at all. It sounded almost like folk music, but then she would have been about six when the album came out and the language wasn't anything you'd play in front of a kid. That particular group had bypassed her generation except for "Fairytale of New York" making itself known round Christmas time and the track from the old Murphy's ads, not that she knew who had done that.

Spike sighed when he saw her blank look. "Shane MacGowan, lead singer with the Pogues and writer of most of their original material. Total pisshead and was even when we used to go to all the same gigs and pubs a quarter of a century ago."

"You knew him?"

"Not to talk to, just one of those faces you used to see everywhere you went, a sort of nodding acquaintance. You couldn't miss him like, he used to have this suit jacket he wore everywhere like a great big union jack front and back and he was never exactly shy and retiring." Spike's voice was almost wistful as he thought back to London in punk's heyday. For about three years he and Dru had shuttled back and forth between London and New York as the whim took them.

"What's your pleasure?" Breaking away from his reverie, Spike looked from Wes to Buffy.

"I'll have a pint of the guest ale," Wes answered.

"Something fruity?" suggested the slayer. Spike rolled his eyes but headed for the bar anyway.

The slayer and former watcher chose a table and settled in on opposite sides while they waited on the vampire's return.

"So what is this really about, Buffy?" Wes asked when they were alone.

"We heard what happened between you and Angel. I don't know if you know that Giles moved back to the Mother Country, but we've been sorta research-challenged. It really would be better if we had someone with your sort of expertise on site." Buffy looked at the table and raced through the rest of her spiel before she could back out.

"We don't charge for all the demon hunting and stuff so we can't pay you, at least not for that, but Giles says that if you want a job at the magic shop it's yours. You just need to ring him _at a civilised hour_ and you can sort out the details between you. I don't know how the wages would compare or anything. And if something else came up that suited you better it's not like you'd be obligated, or if this lot came to their senses… or maybe you own your apartment or something and can't move, whatever. But we could use your help… assuming you haven't ended up too addicted to Passions to think about going back to work."

"A week isn't long enough for me to start watching daytime soaps, let alone become an addict. As to the rest of it I would have to discuss the whole situation with Giles before I could make a decision, though I must say it leaves certain other offers standing." Wes managed a half smile. "At least yours didn't come with a reminder that I'm doomed to the ninth circle of hell."

"You are?" Spike asked as he deposited two identical pints on the table before pulling a bottle of Bacardi Breezer from his jeans front pocket. "I would say that I'd see you there, least that's what most demons seem to think or they would if the knew their Dante, but a certain someone made me promise I'd do my best to achieve the impossible." Spike slid into a chair on the slayer's left claiming her hand again.

"You have other plans, I take it?" Wes queried.

"Buffy, here, seems to think I have the potential to be the first evil soulless thing to make it to heaven. Says she'll take it personal if I don't. So if I'm supposed to avoid damnation, I don't see why you shouldn't, being all soul-havin' an' all." Spike made it sound as if he was suggesting a walk in the park. "'Sides, you didn't betray him, you just tried to protect his kid for him. If all the information you had said he was the threat, don't see that what you did was wrong, and it took guts not to bring in any of the rest of them, to take all the responsibility. Just a pity they're all too blinkered to see it.

Cheers, mate." Spike raised a glass to the bemused ex-watcher. 

****

To be continued in chapter 2.07


	15. Angel City Ch 7

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

Large chunks of this chapter are directly based on Angel the series and some dialogue has been used with only minor adjustments. I make no claim to have written this and give full credit to the writer(s) of the relevant episode(s).

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Angel and Spike had a fight. A, S, B and A jnr. rescued Justine from a bunch of vampires. Spike did a quick Q & A with Buffy to demonstrate that their engagement and his claim on her was all above board. Back at the hotel Buffy got some more of the LA back-story from Cordy and she took off with Spike in tow to do something about what she thought was the LA group's disgraceful treatment of Wes. She asked the ex-watcher to return to Sunnydale passing on Giles' offer of employment at The Magic Box. 

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.07

"You sure?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. The point of this trip is that things end up settled between us all. Your little Q & A session might have him on hold for a bit, but I think I should talk to him one on one before we leave. If I can make him understand how we feel, he might be able to accept it."

"Back to the hotel it is then. No swimming for Spike, yet."

Wes's flat wasn't far from the hotel and Buffy could see it in the distance when Spike hung a sudden right down an alley and then another at the other end taking them back the way they had come. A few blocks further up he took another right and pulled to a stop near where the alley came out onto the larger road.

"Detour?" asked Buffy. 

"Nope, Poof passed us back there. He's nearby somewhere. Guess the Princess had another vision."

Spike popped the trunk and pulled an axe and a crossbow from the bag. Throwing the crossbow to Buffy, who by this time had joined him he headed for the corner of the block at a jog. On the opposite side of a junction he saw Angel head for one of the rooms on the upper level of a two-storey motel. Dodging the traffic, the pair saw him enter one of the rooms and close the door. As they neared the motel Spike slowed and moved stealthily up the stairs.

"Pet, this isn't a vision thing. This is personal. This is the guy that took the kid."

"So what do we do?"

"We make sure we're somewhere he won't see us if he comes out, hope he's too distracted to sense us and hang around until we're sure he's not going to do anything stupid like kill the guy the kid calls Dad."

Spike made sure they were a couple of rooms along from the room Angel had gone into and then gave Buffy a boost so that she could climb onto the flat roof before climbing up himself. The two cautiously moved along the roof until they were above the correct room. 

Almost as soon as they were in position the room door opened and Angel paused in the doorway. At first Spike thought his grandsire had sensed them but when the old man finished speaking the vampire left. They waited until they saw him get in his car and drive off toward the coast. 

"Let's go," Buffy prompted.

"No rush, pet. Peaches hasn't gone back to the hotel. Everybody that doesn't live there has probably done a bunk for the night and if they're not vampires chances are they've turned in. We could go back to the motel…"

"And that would end with me speaking to Angel when?"

Spike gave her a sultry smile. "Later? …Tomorrow? …Sometime? …Maybe Never?" He stepped in and stroked her cheek with his thumb, before he lowered his lips to meet hers. Their touch was gentle, brushing lightly against hers and making her lips tingle. When she didn't resist he increased the pressure on her lips, their mouths opening simultaneously as if at some subconscious signal. Their weapons slid unnoticed from their hands to lie at their feet and Buffy's arms looped around his neck. Spike's hand cupped the side of her face, his fingers tangled in her hair. His other hand slid under her coat and pressed on the small of her back to draw her toward him. 

Buffy moaned into his mouth, the muffled sound spurring the vampire's ardour further. His tongue extended into her mouth slowly exploring and tasting her, memorising every sensation. Reluctantly he pulled back to let her breathe. He looked down into her hazel eyes, her pupils wide with desire.

"I love you, Buffy Summers and I want you, I'll always want you, even if I get to be with you for seventy years and your hair turns white and your face is lined and maybe things get to be not quite so firm. All I'll need to do is look into your eyes and you'll still be beautiful to me. Everything I fell in love with is there in your eyes, your strength, your love, your compassion… You're laughing at me."

"Sorry!" Buffy covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. "It's really sweet… it's just I've got this picture of this little white-haired lady, lying in a bed in an old folks home with an oxygen mask and your perfect white butt bobbing up and down…"

The romantic mood was totally lost. "Hah! See that's where you've got it totally wrong, see 'cause by the time you're that old, pet, you're going to have to go on top. Otherwise I might just end up pounding those brittle bones of yours into powder. And as if I'd let anyone else take care of you. Old folks home indeed. Only way I'd be screwin' you in an old folks home was if I was tryin to upset Harris doin' it in his bed, providin' he hadn't pissed in it first." 

Buffy slapped his arm, now finding it even harder to control her laughter. Spike pulled a cigarette from his pack but paused just before he lit it, raising a finger to his lips. Footsteps clattered up the metal stairway to the upper floor and the couple recognised the woman they had rescued earlier in the bar though now she wore a biker's jacket on top of the light coloured top she'd worn earlier. She moved straight to the door directly below them and before she could knock the door opened. The old man took one last look around the room and then followed the woman down the steps and around the corner toward the alley, coughing and wheezing as if merely catching his breath was a hardship.

As soon as they rounded the corner, Spike lit his neglected cigarette. "Now, see, if a woman like that can be with a bloke like him, who says I can't be with you when you're old and wrinkly?" Spike lodged his cigarette between his lips and used both his hands to tickle her sides. In retaliation Buffy pulled the cigarette from his lips holding it away behind her back, which aside from keeping it out of his reach meant that his chest rubbed against her taut breasts as he tried to get it back. 

It was Buffy who heard the footsteps this time. Looking down she saw Angel's son running toward them at superhuman speed, down the middle of the busy road.

"Two minutes too late," she said, her voice filled with sorrow at his loss.

Stephen came running up the stairs, and less than a second later they heard the room door slam open and the boy's anguished cries, before he started back down the stairs again.

Suddenly Spike swore and snatched the axe from where it lay on the roof before dropping off the edge. He shouted one word as she heard his boots thump a rapid tattoo to the far end of the walkway.

"Blood!" Buffy grabbed the crossbow and made for the stairs. She reached the edge of the roof just in time to see Spike leap onto and off of the railing at the end of the balcony nearest the alley in one motion. For a second she was transfixed by the grace with which he moved, before she sped to catch him up.

Spike was too late. The boy was there first, already helping the woman to hold the old man. He strained to hear a third heartbeat from the group but there was only the boy's and the woman's.

Spike pulled a fresh cigarette from his pack and readied the lighter as he listened to the woman's words, forced out between her sobs.

"This didn't have to happen. Your father was gonna leave. He just wanted to talk to Angelus."

Spike flicked open the lighter with a loud click, letting the flame illuminate the planes of his face for a second before he walked out of the shadows. He gave a slow hand-clap the scene reminiscent of the first night he saw Buffy.

"They should put you up for an Oscar, pet. The grief's very convincing considerin' you're probably the bitch that killed him." Spike swaggered closer all the time. He was close enough to see the wounds on the old man's neck as Buffy came barrelling round the corner, stalling as she took in the scene before her.

"Shut up, demon. Your kind has no right to even speak about my father."

Spike continued, as if Stephen hadn't opened his mouth. "Sloppy job on killin' him though. You were really countin' on the kid never havin' seen a vampire bite before. A killing wound would almost never just be two holes, a killing wound would look a lot more like what I did to Angel tonight. The one on Buffy's neck is just a love-bite but you can still see the imprint of all my teeth."

He watched the kid's eyes travel from the bite on Buffy's neck, to the puncture marks on the old man's body. Buffy moved closer angling her neck so the mark was plain to see.

"I got a little bit carried away, but it's still a lot less messy than you would get from a bite made during an attack because she wasn't struggling. The only time you'll see a two-hole bite is when a vamp is co-operating with someone who wants an unobtrusive wound. Like the whores who'll bite people who get off on it for money and are prepared to make the feeding last a long time. Even then you wouldn't see what you've got there. The holes should be perpendicular to his collar not parallel to it. See where the fang marks are on Buffy's neck and how they relate to how a vamp would tilt his head to bite."

By now Buffy was almost level with the group and Spike walked round behind her and leant over her shoulder, mouth wide, to cover the scars as a demonstration. 

"It's physiologically impossible to bite at an angle that would give you marks like those. And they're too far apart and too small a diameter."

Spike moved round to Buffy's side again and drew deeply on his cigarette.

"Now I reckon, since the kid's biological parents were both fairly bright even if his mother did have one of the most irritating voices on the planet, that the kid has been following my argument. Besides Angel was in his car and gone a good five minutes before you showed your face and walked down here with the old man. I thought you were some old girlfriend come back to look after him. Maybe you were. See I think, maybe, this wasn't so much murder as euthanasia. I think the time he spent in that place ruined his health so badly that the old guy was strugglin' for every last breath he took. And _if_ that's the story then maybe killing him was the kindest thing you could do, _if_ he'd already seen a doctor and there was no way it could be treated.

What I _don't_ get is how you can take two of the people who _saved your life_ earlier tonight and try to screw up both their lives. That's a pretty fucked-up way of showin' gratitude. You're one screwed up bitch. I suggest you find yourself a good shrink. Angelus hasn't existed for a hundred years, give or take one brief reappearance, and we know you weren't around then. Angel, the vampire with a soul, may look similar if you take off the leather pants and add a vest, but he's not. He has a conscience and he generally follows it. He doesn't feed from humans and he loves the kid, just the same as if he were a human father. Maybe more because he never thought he could have one.

You keep saying Angelus did it, so whatever grudge you've been harbouring must be a damn sight older than you, and you don't look Romany to me so I doubt it's been passed down from generation to generation. Believe me Angel's paid twice over for all the things he did, first when he got the soul, and then when he went to hell for half a millennia. If the Powers That Be thought he's been punished enough, and sent him back to atone by working for them, I think it's a bit arrogant for you to try to make things work out different." 

Spike threw his cigarette butt to the ground and stepped on it twisting his foot to put it out. He turned his gaze to the youth.

"Kid, in a way, _Angelus_ was a second father to me, and I hated the bastard with a fiery passion. _Angel_ isn't the same person and he loves you. Give him a chance. If you still end up hating him after a couple of years, then leave and do your own thing, but get to know him first, not the stories you've been told about what he was like two hundred years ago.

We're goin' back to the Hyperion once we've had a cup of coffee. If you want a lift or you want a hand with your dad's body we'll be back in ten minutes once you've had a chance to think things through."

Spike paused long enough to drop off their weapons in the trunk of the nearby DeSoto before leading Buffy off down the street in the direction of a nearby coffee-shop. Spike stayed silent until he was sure he was well beyond normal hearing range for a vamp.

"Was he listening, do you think? Or does he still think it was him?"

"I think he listened, Quincy. He's probably come to the conclusion that _we_ stabbed him with a screwdriver rather than getting the right culprit, but I think you convinced him it wasn't Angel."

"Yeah, well, not a word about this to the Poof. Right? Unless you want to tell him that I told the kid I hated him."

"I won't say anything unless he specifically asks, but I think unless Stephen's struck dumb chances are he will."

The pair managed to catch the coffee-shop just before it closed and dallied on the way back to give the teenager ample time to consider their offer.

* * * * *

**__**

Wednesday Early hours of the morning

"Gimme a bell when you want pickin' up, if it's before sun-up. If not get yourself a taxi." Spike shoved some notes into her hand. "There should be enough there, an' assumin' you want to go shoppin' tomorrow you'd best book us another day at the motel."

"You're not coming in?"

"No point. Get yourself in there and do whatever it is you think you have to and I'll be waitin' when you're done. Me an' him said everythin' we've got to say to each other years ago." She knew that he hated this. That however much had happened between them, part of him still expected her to turn to Angel. 

"Not even a message."

"Nah, Wait, yeah. Tell 'im I said that he can't expect the kid to kill people for their clothes. He's goin' to have to put his hand in his pocket for once and give the cheerleader some dosh to take him shoppin'."

"Is that a subtle dig?"

"Is it? Dunno, pet. I wasn't tryin' for subtle."

"An', pet. Don't let him make you feel guilty about him not havin' anyone. The cheerleader's goin' to work out why it took her so long to notice her Prince Charmin' was missin' before too long."

"You what? Angel and Cordelia?" Buffy snorted. "Yeah, that's gonna happen."

"Already has, pet, just the beauty queen can't see it yet."

"You're serious. I mean, I can see Cordelia falling for Angel, but _please…_"

"Ooh, is that wounded pride I sense. He was supposed to content himself with your memory for the rest of his life. Couldn't you sense it? Bint's grown up, found her place, her calling. She might need to sue her hairdresser but she's turned into a hell of a woman. According to our green friend, grand-papa has it bad as she has. Now go or it'll be sunrise before you get in there."

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him. Neither of them wore a watch but Buffy doubted despite the events of the night if it was much past midnight. She brought a hand up to his face, her fingers following that scarred eyebrow and leant across to give him a long tender kiss.

"Don't go too far. I might want to leave in a hurry." Her hand trailed down his face, over his shoulder, down over his arm until finally their fingertips locked together briefly before she got out of the car.

****

To be continued in chapter 2.08


	16. Angel City Ch 8

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Sandy.Osborne@blueyonder.co.uk.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

I'd just like to say thank you once again to everyone who has sent reviews and emails over the last couple of days. It was very encouraging to hear from so many people. I could name everyone individually but it would probably take up about half a page, so I will just reiterate that your correspondence has been very much appreciated. 

Most people who expressed a preference as to timing of updates said they would rather they were spaced out so that there isn't going to be a big gap when the material that's already written runs out, so for just now there will be an update every couple of days and we'll see how that goes.

Also, most people who expressed a preference said they wanted Wes to come back to Sunnydale, so when I do get round to writing the new material I'll bear that in mind.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy have watched the goings on at Holtz's motel, and Spike intervened when he found Justine trying to lay the blame for Holtz's death at Angel's door, pointing out that the marks on his neck weren't consistent with a vampire bite and giving the teenager the option of returning to the Hyperion with them.

****

SECTION 2 – ANGEL CITY

__

I got a buncha boys

We make a lot of noise

Little bit crazy

Playing with chemical toys

We're such bad ass dudes

I almost can't stand it myself

I wanna get the c**bs

In my elegant rags

Make my mom and daddy uptight

I wanna be an intellectual

Heterosexual, Angel City tonight.

(Motorhead, Album 1916)

****

CHAPTER 2.08

Buffy squared her shoulders and walked into the hotel for the third time that night. The foyer was still lit, the outer door still open, but there was no-one in sight.

"Hello-o. Anybody home? Angel?"

"I am here." A large well-muscled male figure straightened up from the far side of the circular sofa and gave Buffy an ingenuous smile. "Perhaps _I_ may be of some assistance. Do you require the services of an investigator?"

"No. You must be Cordelia's …friend? I'm Buffy. I'm an old friend of Angel's. I'd like to speak to him."

"Angel and Cordelia are upstairs trying out bedrooms …for Connor, I mean. Would you like me to fetch him?" the man offered.

"Yeah, that'd be good."

Buffy turned and jumped up to sit on the former reception desk swinging her legs while she waited. She watched the large, rather formal stranger retreat up the stairs. She wondered why she was here? What was it she wanted to say? They had both moved on. Why did she feel like she needed his approval? What the…? Did she even just think that? If that was what this was about then maybe she should just go.

"Buffy." Angel came down the final flight of stairs.

"Angel. Hi! …again," Buffy was suddenly awkward.

"I thought you'd gone for the night?" his voice was neither welcoming, nor cool, more cautious.

"Had some catching up to do with people of the human variety, figured you would still be up and about when I'd finished."

"Where's Spike?"

Buffy shrugged. "He took the car, said to give him a ring when I need picking up. I think he decided we were more likely to get to the talking stage if he wasn't around."

"I guess so. Since we seem to actually be talking this time. Do you want a drink? Tea, coffee?"

"We just had one. Thanks. Don't let me stop you if you want one. Or blood or anything." Then she remembered that Angel didn't like to feed in front of her. She'd got so used to Spike and his "I drink blood. Deal with it." attitude that she'd forgotten how repressed Angel had been. She looked across at Angel wondering why she just didn't feel anything much except disappointment. They had had something that she had thought was special, but it turned out to be nothing more than a wrong turning. So much of her energy had gone into it, and so many of her hang-ups were because of it and at the end of the day it just didn't mean that much.

"I wouldn't mind. Fancy moving through to the kitchen?"

"Sure. Wherever." Buffy followed him through and grabbed a seat on one of the worktops while he prepped some blood.

"Where are we going with this, Buffy?" Angel asked. "Are you here to talk about you and Spike or to ask me about Connor?"

"Mostly me and Spike, mildly curious about Connor but I reckon it could keep until you know better yourself what the situation is with him, more curious about you and Cordelia."

"Wha-? How did you know? …There's nothing to tell."

"How do you think I know? Who can walk in a room and read everyone in it? Not to mention working out where to go for more information. According to Love's Bitch you two are a done deal even if she hasn't worked it out yet."

"He's got it wrong. We're close. She's my best friend but she's with someone else."

"Someone who went out this morning and she didn't even realise he'd gone until she wanted to introduce him to us when we arrived. He's not going to be around for the long haul, however much he might want to be."

"Yeah? Well I suppose time will tell." Angel seemed to draw some comfort from her words but then he sighed. "I suppose that just leaves you and Spike… as topics for conversation that is."

"Guess so... You know he's changed. I think when he stopped hunting, he became a lot more like the man he used to be." Buffy tried to make a start on what she wanted to say.

"This from the one who told me demons don't change?"

"Just because he's my Mr Right doesn't mean his first name is Always," said Buffy.

"Buffy, just because he has a chip that prevents him from harming humans doesn't mean he's good. He still has a demon inside him. He's still inherently evil."

"I don't believe that. Your guy that was here earlier with the green skin, does he have a soul? Is he evil? Spike's inherently violent, confident to the point of arrogance as far a certain things go. He's possessive, fiercely protective and out and out predatory. He gets all that from his demon side, but none of what I've just described makes him evil. It might make him act like a bit of an asshole now and again but that's about it.

His violent side is channelled into helping me patrol and to be honest I think he prefers the odds on the white hat side of the fence. He'd rather be fighting something twice his size or outnumbered five to one or helping take on a god."

"Buffy, without a soul, he has nothing to guide him, to tell him right from wrong."

"Bullshit! He knows right from wrong. He was taught it as a child and he's intelligent enough with the passage of time to work out how much of what he learned was due to the foibles of the age and what was truly wrong. Or to apply the rule about if it harms no other. Right and wrong are primarily intellectual. Children have to be taught to share, not to just take everything they want. They have a soul, but it doesn't mean they know right from wrong until someone teaches them. Will may not be wracked with guilt if he does something wrong, but most of the time he still knows it's wrong.

Without your soul, you became evil, but to give you the benefit of the doubt it may be that your individual demon is particularly malevolent or it may just be that you're far more weak-willed than Spike. Having a soul didn't stop you stealing from your father to fund your drinking and your womanising when you were human. You used women with never a thought as to whether they'd end up pregnant, disgraced or diseased, never mind thinking of their feelings. You only cared that you had your fun. In fact, I'm fairly positive the soul you were cursed with probably isn't the one you originally had otherwise chances are, even with it, you would still act like Liam.

All your soul does is provide a negative incentive against what you've been educated to believe is wrong. Will has a positive incentive to do what's right, the people he loves. He wants our approval, our acceptance, our love. He doesn't need a guilt complex, he just wants to make us happy, doesn't want to disappoint us and for him it's enough.

So which is better, acting out of love or acting on the fear of feeling bad afterwards?" Buffy challenged the Souled One.

"Hey, back off a bit. I just want to make sure you know what you're up against here. You honestly believe that if the chip stopped working tomorrow he wouldn't go back to feeding from humans?"

"Do you honestly think I'd be engaged to him if I didn't?" Again, Buffy looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he couldn't get over the way her and Spike seemed to have grown together. "Let's cut all the crap here. You find out I'm getting married, which one would be worse, marrying Will or marrying Riley."

"Marrying Riley!" Angel didn't hesitate even for a fraction of a second.

"So all the soulless chipped vampire stuff doesn't really bother you that much at all, does it?" Buffy asked.

"I guess not."

"So how about you stop pretending it does, and we try to all be friends, assuming you can avoid attacking Will the next time you see him."

"Didn't Spike say we'd never be friends."

"Never is a long time, feelings change. Our lives have gone in different directions."

"Hey, well, if you can get married to a guy that called you "Slutty the Vampire Slayer", then anything is possible.

"He what? He is so dead… well, he is dead, but he'll be deader."

Angel let out a low chuckle at her blustering, and Buffy quietened.

"Angel, there's something I have to tell you. I didn't say anything before because I knew we wouldn't have the conversation we just did if I had. Did that make sense?"

"Just about. So what is this news?"

"When you went out before, Spike and me sort of followed you…" Buffy proceeded to describe what had happened at Holtz's motel after Angel had left. "…Stephen got there just before we did. Whoever killed him must have stabbed him with a screwdriver or something. They left two puncture wounds in his neck. The woman, she was acting as if she'd seen you do it—"

"And you wait till now to tell me this?" Angel punched the countertop making a dent in the stainless steel finish and then began to pace to and fro.

"What were you planning on doing, huh? She's human. The person she killed doesn't officially exist. He's a non-person. It's even possible he inflicted the wounds himself. Dru isn't conveniently hanging around for you to lock them up together. And if she was meant to die wouldn't it have just been simpler for the Powers to let her die in the bar? You've got to remember we only see our part of the picture. Hear me out."

"We gave a few forensic-type arguments as to why we didn't believe her and let the kid make up his own mind. We offered him a lift back here, but he said he wanted some time alone, so once we helped him carry the body back up to his room and Will made sure the room was paid for through tomorrow, we left him be. He's not exactly big on demons and what with you and Will being in the middle of a fight the first time we saw him, we probably weren't the best people to be there.

With a bit of luck he'll show up here of his own accord tomorrow, but I don't think you're in a position to push. He might accept you didn't kill his dad, but he feels like you deceived him and stopped him being there to prevent it, so you're partly to blame.

You're going to have to be careful not to crowd him." 

"Gunn and Fred were supposed to be looking after him." Angel wavered between concern that the couple hadn't come back and anger that they'd failed in their duty.

"Yeah, but if that kid decides to run off I defy anyone to catch him and to paraphrase a friend. He's a sixteen-year-old boy and even if everything was normal he'd still be a hormone bomb just waiting to go off. Chances are he'd run away anyway. We know he's somewhere safe even if he is alone in a room with a dead body. Gunn and Fred are probably driving round looking for him. Maybe you should ring and let them know he's okay, sort of."

"Gunn and Fred were the ones who found out he was staying at the motel. They would probably try there first."

"In which case they might be with him now, and if you rang them they might be able to give you an update. 

Look, there's nothing more I can tell you. We'll be in touch. I'll just ring Will and then I'll wait out front." Buffy gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as she passed through on her way to the foyer. 

"Hey!" Cordy's voice greeted her as she moved back into the room. "Whatcha do with the big guy?"

"Left him in the kitchen moping into his mug of blood. Isn't that always the way it goes when we meet up. Except it isn't always a kitchen, and he never used to drink blood in front of people... And for once I'm just a messenger and not the cause of the moping." Buffy wandered over to the office where Cordy and her apparent ex-to-be were sitting, the man massaging her neck.

Cordy gave her a slightly guilty look. "So how did things go with Wes? I mean whatever impression you may have got before, I do still care about him, it's just that right now Angel is my priority and I can't be there for both of them." 

"Yeah, well I guess Bitchy Buffy made a bit of an appearance as well. As to how things went…" Buffy shrugged. "Don't think I know him well enough to tell. Will and him seemed to hit it off. They went all English and started talking about some Owen guy and some Semen guy but apparently it's spelled different. I got kinda lost off.

Look, I need to ring Spike to get him to come pick me up. Do you have a phone I can borrow?"

"You mean it's not your peroxide blond chain smoker that's been pacing up and down in front of the doors for the last five minutes?"

Buffy looked out into the darkness beyond the glass doors able to make out almost nothing of the night beyond the reflected hotel interior, nothing that is except for a halo of white-blond hair and the orange glow of a lit cigarette. "Yeah," she said softly a smile coming unbidden to her lips. Her next words firmer, "yeah, that one's mine." To Cordy's amazement she took off across the foyer at a run and pushed through the revolving door as fast as the hydraulic mechanism and her slayer strength would allow. She threw herself into the arms of the waiting vampire, who grabbed her and spun her round till she was breathless, their coats fanning out behind them like costumes in a bizarre fetish ballet, before letting her feet return to the ground and kissing her soundly. 

****

To be continued in chapter 3.01


	17. Dancin' in the Moonlight Ch 1

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	18. Dancin' in the Moonlight Ch 2

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	19. Dancin' in the Moonlight Ch 3

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	20. Dancin' in the Moonlight Ch 4

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	21. Dancin' in the Moonlight Ch 5

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Buffy came back from her shopping trip to find Spike in the shower, and as any red-blooded female would do, she took advantage of the fact.

****

SECTION 3 – DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT

__

When I passed you in the doorway

You took me with a glance

I should have taken the last bus home

But I asked you for a dance…

…But I'm dancing in the moonlight

It's caught me in its spotlight

It's alright, alright

Dancing in the moonlight

On the long hot summer night

(Thin Lizzy [written by Phil Lynott], Album Bad Reputation)

****

CHAPTER 3.05

Spike took some of her shampoo and massaged it into her hair. When he had finished he spun them round so that instead of hitting his back the water from the shower was hitting hers instead. She took a step backward, still holding him round the waist and let the water rinse the suds from her hair, his fingers working through the strands directing the water flow until the last of the lather was rinsed away. He found himself in the perfect position to claim a kiss. Buffy's head was tilted back and her eyes closed and one of his hands was wrapped in her hair while her arms still circled his waist. His lips moved on hers with a light touch, nibbling at her lower lip to prevent the pout he expected, when she realised he had finished doing her hair.

Pulling back, he turned off the water. "I guess it's time we went back to pretending that we're responsible adults and head back to Sunnyhell. See Bit. Do some sort of patrol." Spike sounded as if he wished they had other plans.

"I thought we had a date with some silky underwear," Buffy suggested.

"Much as the idea appeals, and believe me it does;" He treated her to a trademark leer to prove his point. "I think a rain check's prob'ly in order. Don't want the Niblet thinking that we're too interested in screwin' each other's brains out to spend time with her, or attend to your slayer duties. She seems happy we're together. Don't want her to change her mind," the platinum blond responded.

"You know, if you had to choose, life and death, between me and her I sometimes wonder which one you'd choose," teased the slayer as she led him back into the main room.

The couple started, albeit reluctantly, to get dressed as the vampire responded with a rueful smirk. "Already answered that question, pet, long time ago. Right before our first proper kiss. Well, first one that wasn't 'cause of a spell, that is."

Buffy cast her mind back, trying to think what he could mean, then she remembered his words. _"…the other, not so pleasant Buffy …anything happened to Dawn, it'd destroy her. I couldn't live her bein' in that much pain."_ Yeah, he'd made it plain where he stood. He would die to protect them, but implicit in his words was his acknowledgement of Buffy's willingness to die to save her sister. She had her answer, not necessarily the one she would have expected but then when had her vampire ever been predictable. Her vampire? _Her_ vampire.

"I guess you did," she replied softly as she moved behind him, passing her arms around his waist once more, pressing into his T-shirt clad back so he wouldn't see her face. "There's no limit to what you would do for me, is there?"

"I thought that was obvious by what I agreed to, to get you to marry me." Spike adopted a teasing tone, trying to lighten the serious mood.

"No, that showed me what you were prepared to do to be with me. Knowing that you would let me go because it's what I'd want that means even more."

Spike shrugged. "Not really. No point keepin' you here for you to end up hating me and yourself for lettin' Niblet get hurt. Still just the same old selfish Spike. Couldn't go back to havin' you hate me not after this."

"Oh well. If you put it like that, then…" her teasing tone came back, as did Spike's.

"Couldn't have you thinkin' I was all noble and self-sacrificin', could I?"

"That'd never do. Can't forget you're the Big Bad… Cutie." Her last word prompted the vamp to twist in her arms and sweep her feet from under her, pinning her to the tile floor.

"What did I say to you about the "C" word?" Spike proceeded to tickle her mercilessly. "Who's the only cutie in this room? …Tell me, love."

Buffy gasped for air and squirmed beneath him. "You …are." 

The tickling onslaught stopped and Buffy realised that Spike's lips were only a fraction of an inch away from her own. "Wrong answer, slayer." He stood up and turning away he finished getting dressed.

Buffy continued to pant on the floor for another minute or two. "That's it. You're just going to give up?" she managed after some time.

"Hell no, just waiting till I can consult with an expert tactician as to my best form of attack, and then I'll mount an offensive in my own time. For just now, it's time to go home." He reached down, offering a hand to help her up and was relieved when she took it.

"Translation?" Buffy gave him a sceptical look.

"I'm going to find out from your little sister how best to make you suffer, since tickling doesn't appear to do it. I'm sure she'll think of something," Spike smirked and gave her a slap on her behind. "Now, put some clothes on, woman, before all my good intentions go to waste."

The slayer jumped, startled by the blow rather than hurt. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the vampire sit down on the bed to put on his socks and boots. 

"Spike, you're a pig," she responded as much out of habit as out of conviction.

Spike was quiet on the drive back. Couldn't the bloody woman just give way on anything? Was it her aim in life to strip him of every last vestige of pride that he possessed? Hell, yeah, he was love's bitch again. Always had been, probably always would be. Still, "cutie", that's a girl's nickname and damned if anyone had ever seen him in a skirt, even if Dru had been quite intrigued by the idea in the eighties. And okay, he was making it into a bigger deal than it deserved to be, but it was the final soddin' straw. Damned if he'd got his own way in anything since the pair of them had got engaged and look at the concessions he'd had to make to get her to agree to that.

Okay, she hadn't gone back to that dump she'd worked in, but that was because she'd totally ignored what he said about wanting to stay in control until the Watcher could tell them whether it was safe to claim each other. She hadn't liked the idea that he could rein himself in when they were together. It hurt her pride. So she deliberately set out to make him lose control. Even when he'd already told her the reason he was holding off. Stubborn bitch.

And when she did find out what that password meant he probably wasn't going to hear the end of that either. Further embarrassment to come at the slayer's hands. They'd been using that same bloody password for decades. He'd always thought it was a nice ironic touch. Back in the day anyone who found out would most likely have been creeped out by it. They certainly wouldn't have found it amusing like the slayer would. That was why he'd refused to tell her. He wasn't good at being laughed at. He'd had a lifetime of it before Dru saved him. After that he'd sworn he would never put up with it again, and he hadn't, not till that soddin' wheelchair that she put him in. If she insisted on finding out at least he didn't have to be in the vicinity at the time.

God, why couldn't he, just for once, fall for someone who would give him a bit of slack? Someone who would treat him with some respect. 

Buffy stole sideways glances at the man behind the wheel of the car. If he wasn't smoking, his jaw had that tick that said he was barely in control. She wished she could tell what he was thinking right now. Whatever it was, it wasn't of the good. He'd been fine in the motel, well maybe a little off, the last five minutes, but definitely more than welcoming up until then and he'd seemed okay when they left the room. Then when she'd come back to the car after checking out he'd gone into silent mode. And kept it up for half an hour so far, which had to be a Spike record. Guess Angel wasn't the only one she was going to have to prise information out of.

"Okay, what's the what?" she threw in as an opening gambit.

"Who says there's a what?"

"I do. If you were human you would have ground your teeth to talcum by now. What gives?"

"Not you, that's for sure." The Brit flicked a cold glance over her before returning his attention to the tiny bare patch on the windscreen.

"What? What are you talking about?" Buffy's temper immediately rose to take on his.

"You. I had this stupid idea that if you loved someone, then what they wanted was supposed to count for something."

"Okay, I'm sure that makes some sort of sense to you but I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Name me one disagreement or argument or fight that we've had where you've actually backed down and let me have my way. You do realise that when people talk about give and take in a relationship it's not meant to be all give on one side and all take on the other."

"I didn't go back to DMP. You didn't want me to and I didn't go back."

"There's a good example. You didn't go back because I bit you so you couldn't go back that night and by the next day you were enjoying playing hookey too much to want to go back. It had nothing to do with what I wanted. And to go back to me biting you, I bloody told you I wanted to keep things as they were until Rupert finished his research. That I had to stay in control until we knew it was okay, so you decided it was a challenge. You just had to push to see if you could get me to lose control and look where that's got us."

"Yeah, well, I don't see a problem with where that got us," Buffy responded.

"So you don't think you're eventually going to come to resent the control it gives me."

"No more than I resented the fact you weren't being completely open."

"My point exactly, slayer. It doesn't matter what we're talking about or what any reasoning behind it is, as soon as you don't agree you just do whatever it takes to get your own way. Compromise just isn't in your vocabulary. Well maybe you should think about what you might lose in the long run if you win every argument," the vampire ground out, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Are you threatening to leave me? Didn't take you long to threaten to go back on all your big promises, did it?"

"For goodness sake, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm here to stay? What I'm saying is if you can't get over always having to win you'll destroy the last few scraps of pride this buggerin' chip lets me keep. I told you once I was a willing slave. I can't deny you anything and if you keep going, that's what you'll have a slave, not a husband."

Buffy was stunned into silence. He was right. She knew he wouldn't leave. She knew that he would do anything to make her happy and if she didn't curb her slayer instincts she would walk all over him for it. He could read her so easily. He knew when he should back off. She didn't, not yet. She still didn't even know what she'd done to bring all this up.

When she finally found words to speak all the anger was gone from her voice. "You're right, as you almost always are. I just don't know what I'm supposed to have done. I mean you were right I did set out to make you lose control, but I don't think that's it. I don't … What did I do?"

"I might be into pain, but emasculation, verbal or otherwise isn't my scene. Not that I do great on ridicule of any sort, in fact." came the vampire's cool reply.

Buffy mentally made her way through the last five minutes in the motel room. "You're in a foul mood because I called you Cutie? _That's_ what's got you so bent out of shape? In case you hadn't noticed it's supposed to be a term of endearment. It doesn't bother you when you use it on me. In fact it was you using it that started it. Turn about's fair play."

The vampire sorted in disgust. "Not when you're throwin' around words like that. Cute, I'll just about put up with since with your age group it sort of means sexy, but I still don't like it. Cutie though… To me a cutie is a little big-eyed bint, which to me seems appropriate for you, but it's hardly going to make me feel all manly, is it? And I'm not this pissed off because you called me cutie, I'm this pissed because even when I gave you the chance to take it back you were too bloody pig-headed to do it. A stupid little thing not worth fighting over but you still had to win. That's what pisses me off."

"Well, that's not what I mean by it …or Will, I mean Willow. We both talk about guys being cuties, or we used to, but I'm sorry that I upset you. I'll try to avoid calling you anything girly in future. And I'll try not to push everything to the limit."

"Yeah, just remember you said that when you get round to doing your research."

"If you stop the car I'll find you a nice big weapon from the trunk. Something very butch," Buffy offered.

"What?"

"Well, you did tell me once that weapons made you feel 'all manly'. I thought it might help repair all the psychological damage I've done."

"I can think of other ways. And that was four and half years ago. You telling me you've memorised every word I've ever said to you."

"Actually, what I remember more were the …_actions_ that went with it." Her cheeks flushed with colour as she spoke and her eyes burned bright.

"Are you saying you had the hots for the Big Bad way back then, pet?"

"Let's think, I was more than interested first time I saw you, right up to the point where you said you were going to kill me. That sort of put a damper on things. And when we were fighting in the school I was a bit busy being scared and generally trying to stay alive. The whole machismo thing came across as skanky rather than anything else. That doesn't mean to say that after our first engagement, it didn't feature in an occasional late night fantasy."

"Now, see, that's making me feel more manly already. So you dreamt about me even when you were seeing the hall monitor."

"Will, I thought about you while I was screwing the hall monitor, okay?" Buffy blushed even redder. "I dreamt about you and I got myself off thinking about you."

"Buffy, you naughty girl. What exactly was it that made you want to imagine you were with someone who'd never done more than kiss you? I don't even think you'd seen me with my shirt off."

"I'd felt you though. In the crypt, just before Willow reversed the spell, I could feel everything. I knew you …measured up."

"And soldier boy didn't?"

"Let's say, maybe he was about the same height as Angel but he wasn't as big, and you know how you compare with Angel. I mean he was probably average size for his height, he wasn't tiny or anything. He just wasn't …you. And then there's the whole bad boy thing." Buffy's tone shifted from shyly disconcerted to mildly sarcastic as she continued. "Now have I embarrassed myself and restored your ego enough or do you need me to suck you off now?"

Spike laughed. "I think that can wait till we're stationary, love. Maybe after patrol we can take the bike over to the flat and christen the new sheets. If they smell of you I might be able to sleep."

Buffy leant over and kissed his cheek. "I've never known anyone who could be so sweet and so crass all in the same mouthful. God knows why I love you, Will, but I do."

"And I love you too, pet."

Buffy scooched over as far in his direction as she could, trying to find a comfortable position to snuggle up to him while he was driving, eventually squirming back into the same position she'd been in the night before. He wasn't talking any more but that was okay. The tension was gone from his jaw and the hand she wasn't holding was drumming on the steering wheel to some song in his head. She'd probably find out what it was when he got round to singing along under his breath. All was well with the world again …for now.

"Buffy?"

The woman in question opened her eyes looking up at the face of the man she was propped against. By her reckoning they probably had another half-hour's drive before they reached Sunnydale. "Mm-hmm?"

"D'you think Platelet would mind if I didn't come in when I drop you off?"

"She'd be disappointed." Buffy gave him a questioning look. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking if I got the bed made and the curtains put up I could go back to the flat tonight instead of staying at the crypt."

"You could stay at ours again?"

"It's only the third night since I spent the night at your place and you had good reason to limit it to two nights a week. Can't tell who might be watchin'. They probably wouldn't be as bad now we're engaged but there's no point takin' unnecessary chances. 'Sides we probably wouldn't be too popular if we kept the rest of the house up on a week night."

"Well, come in, have dinner with us and then the three of us can go over there together after and sort it out. It's easier doing double beds with two people anyway, and Dawn'll want to see your new place. You can drop her off at home before we patrol.

And as to keeping everybody else awake, I've been thinking maybe soundproofing the basement and putting in another bathroom might be the best option whether the other Will stays or not …if we can definitely afford it?"

"We can afford it. And I can't imagine Bit being upset if she ended up with the big room if the witches didn't stay. Do you want to ask your mate or just pick someone from the Yellow Pages? I'm not sure how well he'd take bein' asked to build us a bedroom," Spike pointed out.

"I'll see what the other Will thinks," Buffy mused. "If we don't ask him he might get offended, but then like you say… You never know if the pair of you worked on it together you might even end up tolerating one another."

"Or stranglin' each other, one of the two. Specially since I've never used a saw in my life but that still doesn't make me any keener on following instructions from Harris."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Men."

"And now for something completely different." Spike pulled out his phone and passed it to Buffy. "Better ring the Wiccans and see if they want anything from the Chinese. Then if you ring the take away place it should be ready to pick up when we get back to town. Bit wanted lemon chicken, fried rice and banana fritters. I'll have the chilli beef."

"No rice?"

"No point, can't taste it."

Buffy picked up the phone and made arrangements for dinner, deciding it wasn't worth explaining to the vamp that nobody could really taste rice.

****

To be continued in chapter 4.01


	22. Home Sweet Home Ch 1

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. I'm always happy to know what you think, and especially to know someone is actually reading this stuff that I write. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy were last seen in the DeSoto making their way back to Sunnydale and arranging to pick up some food on the way.

****

SECTION 4 – HOME SWEET HOME

__

Take me to your heart

Feel me in your bones

Just one more night

And I'm comin' off this long and winding road…

…My heart's like an open book

For the whole world to read

Sometimes nothing – keeps me together

At the seams

I'm on my way

Well, I'm on my way

Home sweet home

Tonight tonight

I'm on my way

Just set me free

Home sweet home

(Motley Crue, Album Decade of Decadence)

****

CHAPTER 4.01

__

Wednesday Evening 

"Lucky it wasn't a girl or he'd probably have ended up playing stalker before he worked out who she was."

"Dawn!" Buffy's shocked exclamation coincided with Spike's snicker of amusement, which was only curtailed when Buffy redirected her glare. Spike didn't really care. Nothing was going to spoil his good mood. He was sandwiched between his two favourite women. The kitchen-island was strewn with Chinese food cartons. On the other side of said island, Tara and Willow were obviously still on their reconciliation high.

"What? It's not like she's wrong. You know the Poofter was followin' you around lurkin' in bushes even before you moved to Sunnyhell. Told me 'n' Dru all about it," Spike replied smugly.

"I give in. You two yuk it up while you can." Buffy turned her attention to her food knowing that when the blond one and her sister discussed Angel she wasn't going to be able to curtail the sarcasm however hard she tried.

"So," Dawn took this as dispensation to cross-examine Spike, "Does The Next Gen look like someone glued a cliff formation to his forehead as well, 'cause, like, he's never going to manage the broody glower without the overhang?"

Spike snorted before he replied, "nah, pet. This one at least _looks_ human. Apart from hair colour he seems to take after 'is mum, fer looks anyway. God help us all if he's got her temperament."

"What I don't believe is none of them even picked up a phone when he was born." Willow added her opinion. "I mean we've let them know all the really big stuff. I even took the bus to tell him in person when Buffy… left. You two went to tell him in person about …you two. Xander wrote to Cordelia to say he was getting married. I rang them to say he didn't and all the time, BABY, hello!"

"You haven't heard the best bit yet, Red"

"What?"

"Cheerleader."

"You're telling me, there's more? Other than her being part demon and being in love with Angel but too busy getting off with some other guy, not of this earth, to realise?"

"Yep." Spike raised his hand holding his fingers roughly level with his jaw. "Hair lopped off to here and damn near as blonde as mine, except for the bits they left brown. Does not suit her complexion. And it's all sort of flat, makes her face look rounder or she's put on weight. Not sure which. Helluva waste."

"No!" Dawn was shocked, while Willow merely turned to Buffy for confirmation. The slayer looked up from successfully transporting two grains of rice from her carton to her mouth using chopsticks to notice her best friend's attention concentrated on her. "What?"

"Is it true?"

"What, Cordelia's hair? Yeah, all true though I'm not sure that the overall effect is as bad as he's making out. Doesn't seem to bother Angel, but then maybe I'm not in a position to judge 'cause _I_," her eyes slid to Spike with a meaningful glance, "_wasn't attracted to her when she was a brunette either_."

Willow wrinkled her nose and looked at Spike. "Really? Cordelia? Ew, for two guys that argue all the time you and Xander seem to have the same taste in women."

"Yeah, well, hello. Why did you think we don't get on?" Spike replied. "And anyway, next time Wolf Boy's in town, he can back me up. She did look pretty damn good last time I was down there. Whether she's his type or not I don't think he would argue." Spike looked around the table at the four women.

Tara gave him an amused smile. "Quit while you're ahead, Spike."

"Anyway, Will, I think you're being unfair. Even Xander's never sunk low enough to "date" Harmony," Buffy grinned mischievously, her words somewhat mitigated by the fact her foot was currently rubbing up and down against the inside of Spike's shin.

"Well you know what you said about that?"

Buffy looked over at Willow. "You better refresh my memory."

"'Guy, dating Harmony, dead. Must be the most tolerant guy in the world.' So is he?"

Spike gave Buffy his full attention, scarred eyebrow raised skyward. "Pretty much." She gave him a soft smile. "He puts up with me."

"Yeah, well, that just proves it," Dawn interjected with typical little sibling glee. "I mean look how long your first roommate lasted, less than a week wasn't it."

"That's so not fair. Like it was my fault they made me roomies with a demon that tried to steal my soul and played Cher non-stop." 

Spike smirked. "You make it sound like the Cher was the worst bit."

"You try listening to "I believe" for two hours in a row and see how you like it."

"No thanks, pet."

"So anyway what other news have you brought back from LA?" Tara asked.

"Well, Wesley might come back to Sunnydale. Giles has offered him a job at the Magic Box." Buffy offered, "but then you've never met Wesley either, so yet again you're going to have no clue what we're talking about. You must be bored silly."

"Wes the Wonder Wuss?" was Dawn's comment. "Not sure she wants to. The only one who liked him last time round was Cordelia and even she went off him after he kissed her."

"Seemed alright to me, Bit," answered Spike.

"Wesley and Spike bonded," Buffy said. "They talked about beer and motorbikes and hell and soccer and killing demons, which was about the only bit I understood. He doesn't really seem all that wussy at all any more actually. I think if he does come back you'll all get a surprise.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else."

"I think that pretty much covers it, pet. I think the whole kidnapped prophecy baby saga was probably the highlight," Spike confirmed. 

"Well, I vote for you taking a chunk out of the King of Pain, actually," Dawn gave Spike a beaming smile. "That's my personal favourite anyway."

"What is it with you and Angel?" her sister asked. 

"The guy was a creep, Buffy. Skanking round after jailbait schoolgirls. He never spoke unless he wanted me to go fetch you and then he'd patronise me like I was three or something instead of ten. The only time he spoke to mom was to tell her you'd done the down and dirty. If he was really in love with you, don't you think he'd make more of an effort to get on with your family? He was a loser. You just couldn't see past the soulful eyes. Jeez, if that's what you wanted, you could have talked mom into letting us have that St Bernard. Do you want me to start on the "evil" version now?"

"Maybe you'd better not. I think I get the picture."

"Yeah, we all got them, remember, creepy charcoal sketches of us all sleeping. Except Giles. Jenny wasn't sleeping in his picture. She was dead. He killed her, set up Giles apartment like a seduction scene, arranged her body and then sat there and drew her. Giles has never seemed as happy since, as he was with Jenny."

"He's got Olivia now," Willow offered as a token defence.

"Yeah, yeah and he likes her but he doesn't go all glowy when someone mentions her name like he used to with Jenny. He had the real thing. Now, he's settling. And to even have that, he's had to leave all of us."

"Boy, all those times you got told to sit quiet in the corner and do your homework, you didn't get much homework done, did you?" Buffy asked.

"Blame the monks, and I still did more than any of you, except Willow, and if she was sleeping more than three hours a night, I don't know how," replied the one-time key.

"Hey, I used to manage a good five hours most nights, I'll have you know," the redhead responded, "and it was partly effective time management and partly the fact that my parents never actually expected me to spend any time with them."

"Maybe we shouldn't invite the Poofter to the wedding, pet. Unless _you_ want him there." Spike suggested in a soft voice.

"But he's the only family you've got that you can invite. Well, him and Stephen. And I sort of already said he'd be getting an invitation," Buffy admitted.

"What's the bigger issue here, pet, not inviting your ex who didn't even bother to tell you he was a father or spoilin' a special day for the guy who's been your father for the last six years?"

"You liked Stephen though, and you can't ask him without asking his dad?"

"The kid's only two hours up the road. There'll be plenty of time to play happy families after we're married, _if_ he ever gets over his xenophobia. And if the junior watcher does shift back here I'd rather have him around than the Great Poof, but it's your choice and you don't have to decide yet."

"I'll think about it. Like you say, there's plenty to do before I have to make up my mind."

For some time after that the room was silent except for the sound of eating, before Buffy decided it was time to clear the air on another subject. "Em, Will," she nodded her head in Spike's direction for clarification, "and I were discussing what we were going to do about living arrangements after the wedding."

"Oh… oh!" Willow's eyes went large and round.

"No, Will, wait a minute. We're not asking anyone to leave, not unless they want to, and if our plans work out there should be room for Tara too. If you two decide to …you know, move back in together officially.

What we were wanting to do, is use my room for a box room, and do a conversion on the basement, section it off so you have a separate laundry area where you go in and convert the rest into a second big bedroom and another bathroom. We thought we wouldn't disturb everybody else as much that way …coming back from patrol in the middle of the night and stuff." Buffy blushed profusely.

"Sounds good to me. I don't want to be scarred for life listening to you two, or say, tripping over all your clothes when I go to brush my teeth in the morning," Dawn answered brightly as Buffy turned a shade redder.

"Bit," Spike decided it was time to rescue Buffy. "For one thing, you're exaggerating. It wasn't all our clothes, and for another if you want to be treated like an adult, you're going to have to tone down the bratty kid sister act. Hopefully, by the time we get married, things will be arranged so we've all got a bit more privacy. In the mean time, the occasional nights that I do stay here, we're not going to patronise you by pretending there's nothing going on. It's a perfectly natural situation between two adults who care deeply about each other. If you're as grown up as you like to think you are then you'll just accept it as such."

"Okay," Dawn drew out the word until it was almost a sigh, but made no move to protest the ruling. Buffy found herself looking back and forward between the two, wondering how he managed to avoid all the back talk she got whenever she tried to get her sister to do anything.

She shook her head, turning her attention instead to the two Wiccans. "Well, anyway, how does that sound to you two? It'll mean getting builders in for a while, and I don't know how long it'll take, but most of the disruption should be when you're at college …or school…"

"It all sounds fine, Buffy, but it's an awful lot of trouble and expense. I mean if we weren't here, you and Spike would probably just move into your mom's old room…" Tara offered.

"Even if we knew, now, that you girls were going to get your own place we'd still go ahead with getting' the basement done," Spike gave by way of a rebuttal. "It gives us more privacy, potentially more space. Sunlight's less of an issue." He shrugged and looked at Willow. "Red?"

"Sure. It sounds okay to me. Just I hadn't thought about what we'd do. I mean I know you said that you weren't asking us to leave, but do you really want two extra people around when… well, newlyweds…" 

Spike looked over at Buffy as if to say 'Your turn'. "You know how I feel, pet."

"Okay, if you guys move out, then Dawn's going to be left alone every night when we patrol. Either that, or we have to take it in turns to go out alone. We're not all that keen on either of those options. If Willow stays and maybe you move back in at some stage, then Dawn has people around when we're not here, at least often enough that the bad guys can't _rely_ on her being alone. We're not saying we would expect you to be here for her every night. With an extra bathroom we'll probably be less in each other's ways than we are now. 

We don't want you to feel you have to stay. You didn't sign on to live with Spike. And you could probably get somewhere closer to campus and maybe you two want some privacy.

What I mean is, there are all sorts of reasons why you might decide that you would rather move out, and if that's what you want then that's fine, but we'd be happy if you stayed. And we know …or at least as far as we know, you two are still working things out, and it's not like we want you to make any decisions before you're ready…

Just make up your own minds, in your own time."

"In other words, sort it out between the two of you. We're okay with whatever you decide to do.

Thing is, I think the slayer actually brought this up for a different reason. She doesn't know whether she should ask Harris if he wants the job or not," Spike put in.

"Ask Xander to build you a cosy little love nest?" Tara asked in a quietly sceptical fashion.

"Well," said Buffy, "that's one way of looking at it and the other way is, what's he going to think if we hire somebody else without asking him? D'you think you could maybe feel him out, Will?"

"Gee. And once I've done that can I gargle with crushed glass?" the redhead sing-songed. "Sure, Buff. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. Dawn, did you get your homework done?"

"All the stuff for tomorrow, yeah, but I could do with some pointers on my English for Friday." The teenager looked across at Spike.

"What is it?"

"Three page essay on "The Scottish Play". I've done the outline. I just want to make sure I'm on the right track before I start to pad it out."

"D'you need me to look at it tonight, or if I'm here straight after school tomorrow will that do?"

"If you look at it tonight I can work on it in study hall tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll have a look at what you've got tonight. If something's wrong I should be able to spot it, but I could do with re-reading the play before I can say whether there's anything you should add …if you've got a spare copy anywhere in the house."

"Mom had one of those "Complete Works" things. It's probably on the bookcase in the dining room. I'll get it." Dawn dashed off to the far room.

"You're going to read a whole play for tomorrow, just to help her with her homework?"

"S'not like I'm going to find something better to read."

"You could find something less prejudiced against witches, though," Willow replied. "That play alone…"

"Shh, baby. No point getting all upset about something that was written centuries ago," Tara tried to calm the redhead.

"And it's been giving people the wrong impression about witches ever since."

"A valid point, but not one Bit's English teacher would probably class as one of the main points of the story." Spike stood up, placed a quick kiss on top of Buffy's head and made his way out of the combat zone with a few whispered words. "I'll just go catch up with Dawn, have a look at this outline that she's got done. If I'm longer than quarter of an hour, send a search party."

Meanwhile Willow's anti-Shakespearean tirade continued. "And all the three's. Like it isn't perfectly acceptable to do magic alone, or in pairs …or eight's. And why would they be meeting in the middle of a moor? And who's meant to have carried the cauldron out into the middle of nowhere?"

Buffy decided if she and Tara were going to have to listen, they deserved some creamy cold goodness in compensation. She slid off her stool and ransacked the nearby freezer for several minutes before her search attracted Tara's attention.

"What are you looking for, Buffy?"

"You guys can't have eaten all the leftover ice-cream from Monday night?"

Tara nodded, looking slightly guilty and Buffy realised that Willow's monologue had faded to a whisper and then stopped. She straightened up until she could see an equally guilty expression on Willow's face.

"Spike bought three quarts. Different flavours. The expensive stuff."

"Dawnie was kinda missing you guys, so we had sundaes and shakes," Tara explained.

Buffy sighed and climbed back on her stool. "You do realise it was a con. She never used to see Spike anyway and I burnt breakfast for her before she went off to school in the morning, which is more than I would have managed if I had late shifts at DMP. She was just working the sympathy angle so you'd let her get her teenage mits on my cookie dough ice-cream."

"Sweetie, she used to miss you when you worked late shifts, as well. And she's been missing Spike since you ran him off to make sure her and Will didn't notice the thing between the pair of you. Sunday night and Monday just reminded her why she missed him and how much. Only difference is that this time we had some ice-cream in the freezer."

"…And Tara was here to get her to say what was wrong …cause she's still not really talking like that to me after the car thing," Willow added.

"I'm a bad mother. Spike's a better mother than me. Why doesn't she want _me_ to help with her homework? Why didn't she tell me she missed Spike? Why didn't she say she missed me?"

"'Cause you weirded out on her whenever she brought Spike up? She knew that you had to work, and she knew your options were limited with all the slayer-related absences and stuff. And like she said, we all spent more time researching demons than doing assignments and she knows it. You were doing the best you could and she didn't want to make things worse for you than they already were," Willow replied.

"Look at it this way, cutie. You've got a fresh new start. You can't change the past, but it's up to you what happens now." Tara gave her some practical advice.

"I guess I could take up the clothes I bought for her, once I give her hell for not leaving any ice-cream."

Buffy picked up her shopping which had been dumped in the corner of the kitchen when they brought in the food. She slung the bag of magazines onto the coffee table in the living room and took the rest of the stuff up to her room. She paused to find a particular lingerie set amongst the many she had bought, putting it on the bed and laying to one side the things she'd bought for Dawn she put the rest of the bags away in the bottom of her closet. She pulled a gym bag from a closet and filled it with a selection of other clothes, a spare pair of boots and a few bits and pieces from the bathroom, lastly placing the new lingerie on the top, before closing it up and putting it in the hall.

Then she picked up the carrier bags with Dawn's things and knocked on the door of her room, waiting for her sister to answer before she opened the door. "How's the homework going?" she asked the pair who were both lounging across Dawn's bed with her English file spread out between them.

"Sorted," replied the vamp flipping the file shut and picking up a large thick paperback.

"Have we got time for Dawn to try on some clothes, before we go?" Buffy asked the other blond.

He gave a theatrical sigh. "Sure, if we leave patrol till after she goes to bed for the night. I suppose this means I have to leave the room."

"I got a few things for you up in LA. We can exchange any that don't suit. I think we're going to be visiting LA a few times between now and the wedding." This prompted another sigh from Spike. Buffy held out a hand to him, pulling him up off the bed. "We'll wait in my room while you change, but I don't think Spike needs to see you model the underwear. Quicker you're done, quicker you get to nose round Spike's apartment."

Buffy passed her the bags, which had been hidden out of Dawn's line of sight behind the door.

Dawn's eyes widened as she looked in the first two. "Buffy, you must have spent a fortune."

"Thank Spike, if we were talking DMP wages you'd probably be trying to make do with some of my old stuff. I guess it's a token effort to make it up a bit for all the stuff that I had at your age that I haven't been able to buy you the last year or so …but if you keep pigging all the ice-cream you'll have too many zits to go out anywhere and none of it's going to fit anyway." The last bit was thrown in as she pulled the door shut and Dawn started to strip.

The first couple of outfits were quickly checked for size, approved by Buffy and Spike and discarded. The third, a lavender mini-dress and knee-high boots had Spike obviously wanting to make an objection. "I suppose it's okay as long as you're going out where there's someone to keep an eye on you," was the best he could finally manage. The two women in the room looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"I wore dresses at least as short when I was her age," Buffy answered indignantly.

"Yeah, and that's why you had the Poof followin' you round, but you could fend off the pimple squad and the vamps. Bit doesn't have super-strength, so she should be a bit more careful."

"So train me some more," Dawn looked at the vamp.

Spike smiled. "If your sister doesn't mind, once I move in, I probably will. Just remember that fighting's your last option."

"I know, I know. Shout for help if you or Buffy or any of the witches are nearby and run. Only fight as a last resort because things or people can be tougher than they look." Dawn recited the rules imposed by her one-time trainer and then headed for her room.

"When were you training my sister?" the slayer asked.

"The last couple of weeks before Willow and that brought you back. Didn't get very far." Spike shrugged.

"Why?"

"'Cause it was more fun than trying to work out what was going on in those Bollywood movies, even if I can speak a teeny bit of Hindi? Why d'you think?"

"You know she's going to want to patrol." Spike was surprised that her tone came out even rather than angry.

"I know. I'd still rather she had more options than screamin' and dyin' if she gets herself cornered. And she knows she'd have to be damn good before I'd even think of takin' her, which gives her an incentive to improve."

"If she got to where she was half-way decent, she'd probably be safer with us than in the house on her own," Buffy admitted.

"I know. We'll worry about that when she _is_ half-decent."

"I don't think I ever thanked you for looking after her while I was gone."

"There's no need for thanks. Lookin' after the people I care about, it's just what I do." The vampire looked at his nails as if embarrassed by her attempt at graciousness.

Buffy leant over towards him, her words barely a whisper against his cheek. "Thank you for being you, then." Her lips pressed against his pale flesh, and they both knew she wasn't just talking about him looking after her sister.

As the blondes waited for Dawn to model the fourth outfit, Spike started to fidget. 

"Read your book. I'll go give her a hand," Buffy told him before heading for her sister's room.

It was still a further five minutes before Buffy knocked and held the room door open to herald her sister's entry. The gown wasn't dissimilar in style to the one Buffy had worn to her senior prom though the bodice was cut square across the front, showing the smallest hint of cleavage. The fabric shimmered between a pale greenish-turquoise and sky blue and it made Dawn's eyes seem even bluer, and she wore sandals with narrow straps in the two shades, obviously from the same range. The outfit was finished off by a wrap in the sky blue hue.

Spike's jaw dropped when he saw his Niblet looking so grown up. No make-up, no hose and no special hairstyle or jewellery, but she still looked gorgeous to him.

"Junior prom?" he asked, gaining brownie points from his fiancée for being aware of the upcoming events in her sister's life.

Dawn nodded. 

"You'll be the belle of the ball, pet."

"Thanks to you two." She hugged and kissed both of them, before she stood in front of Buffy's dresser for one more look. 

By the time Dawn was back in normal clothes another half an hour had gone by. Willow and Tara had been summoned upstairs to see the transformation. Everything had been neatly hung up or packed away and Dawn had escaped the boned ivory basque her sister had bought for her to wear under the dress.

"You guys are so cool. Of course, I don't have a date, but that dress is so great. Stacey'll go green when she sees it."

"Just remind me to tell you about my junior prom night and what mom told me."

"Are we going to get moving at some point or are you pair goin' to blub on each other for the rest of the night?" Spike asked his tone totally belying the harshness of his words.

"Ooh, who's getting all sarky, then?" Buffy responded, but she also started heading for the door, picking up her gym bag and coat on the way. "Best grab whatever you need, Dawn. If we don't hurry he might resort to biting wit?"

"No, save us," giggled Dawn as she ran down the stairs, headed for the car.

"Women." The vamp took Buffy's hand as they walked downstairs together.

****

To be continued in chapter 4.02


	23. Home Sweet Home Ch 2

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	24. Home Sweet Home Ch 3

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. If the site you're using doesn't have a review function please e-mail me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: After some none too hygienic activity on Spike's kitchen worktops Buffy got all sleepy so Spike put her to bed, but of course he had to keep her company.

****

SECTION 4 – HOME SWEET HOME

__

Take me to your heart

Feel me in your bones

Just one more night

And I'm comin' off this long and winding road…

…My heart's like an open book

For the whole world to read

Sometimes nothing – keeps me together

At the seams

I'm on my way

Well, I'm on my way

Home sweet home

Tonight tonight

I'm on my way

Just set me free

Home sweet home

(Motley Crue, Album Decade of Decadence)

****

CHAPTER 4.03

__

Thursday Early hours of the morning

Spike wasn't sure what woke him at first, and then Buffy struggled in his arms. Raising himself up, he saw the tell-tale darting movements of her eyeballs behind closed lids. Bending his neck her whispered near her ear. "Shh, pet. 'S not real. You're safe. Everything's okay." Her struggles stilled and he placed gentle kisses against her shoulder. His hand rubbed softly up and down her side in a movement designed to be soothing.

Her eyes flicked open and she pulled his arm tight round her waist again, her left hand on top of his she intertwined their fingers.

"Bad dream, love?"

She nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"S'okay. Just the usual,"

Spike hugged her even tighter to him briefly as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. Inwardly, he cursed the Scoobies again for the lack of foresight on their part that had made them bring her back to life without disinterring her first. "They'll get better with time."

She managed a watery smile. "They are better, with you here. First time in three nights I've been with you that it's happened."

"Could be because you didn't exactly get much sleep the other two," he answered wryly.

"Or it could be because I feel safe with you."

"And when we're not together, how often…"

She paused before she answered. "At least once."

"Every night?" His voice was full of concern.

She nodded again. 

He felt helpless, knowing there was nothing he could do to help other than just be there for her. It was the same way that her scent in the air and her presence in his arms stilled his own subconscious, letting him forget his failure on the tower.

She shook her head as if to clear it and rolled over in his arms. Her eyes flicked to his face. "How d'you fancy a spot of violence?"

"As you wish, princess." He kissed her on the forehead and loosened his grip on her waist. She scrambled out of bed, hastily righting the straps on the short gown. Spike watched her until she left the room and then quickly put his socks and boots back on and followed after. Reaching the main room he realised that the only shirt he had was the one Buffy had ripped off him earlier. The spare clothes from their stay in LA were in Buffy's case, now at Revello Drive. Everything else was still at the crypt.

Buffy emerged from the bathroom dressed for battle only to give a small laugh at the incongruous sight of Spike with his duster on but his shirt still unbuttoned. 

"Oops?" she offered almost by way of apology. "Didn't realise it was the only shirt you had here."

"Was worth it, pet. Don't worry. We can swing past the crypt while we're out and I'll clear out the fridge and get the rest of my clothes. Pick up the bike as well, so I can drop you off at home or bring you back, whatever you want."

"I should probably go home, so I'm there to get Dawn off to school." Her voice held more than a hint of reluctance.

"I know, love. We'll all be together soon enough. One big family."

"Speaking of family… May as well ring Giles now, before we go out," Buffy gave a weak half smile. 

Spike dropped into a half reclining position on the sofa and reaching over the chair arm he picked up a cordless phone from its stand on an end table. He held it out in her direction, but when she made a move to take it from him, he pulled her down into his lap. She tensed for a second but then relaxed against him resting her head on his shoulder. As soon as she did, he handed her the phone.

"So, you don't _know_."

"Buffy, it's not the sort of decision one jumps into overnight." Giles sounded exasperated as only the slayer could make him. "I think it would be unreasonable to expect anyone to make a decision of this sort so quickly."

"But he sounded interested?"

Buffy heard the watcher sigh, and could imagine him polishing his glasses as he spoke. "There is nothing more to be done. Whether he decides to move back to Sunnydale or not is to some extent irrelevant. What is more important is that he knows there is a place where he will be welcome if he so chooses… Though I would be most grateful if he were able to provide you with help on a day to day basis."

"So you're saying that the fact he knows he can come here is more important than whether or not he comes?" Buffy tried to make sure she had understood her former mentor correctly.

"Precisely. Now as to other matters, the orbs of Nezzla Khan have been hidden away for so long that nothing I was able to find is based on first hand knowledge. Everything seems to have its basis in ancient oral tradition. From what I can gather this is the first time the orbs have fallen into human hands. As such, there are no records as to what any long-term effects might be. I would recommend that Xander uses them with caution, and that Anya watches him very carefully for any signs of change following or during their use. He certainly shouldn't be carrying them constantly until we are very sure that it is only the strength and invulnerability of the demon prince that is passed on."

"So, taking them to work so that he doesn't strain anything with all the heavy lifting would be a no-no then?"

"Please tell me that even Xander wouldn't be quite so frivolous with an item of such obvious power," the Englishman pleaded.

"Even Xander wouldn't be that frivly with such a powerful thingy…?" Buffy responded with no conviction at all.

"Oh dear lord. Just tell him I said not to carry them unless he's expecting trouble or helping out on patrol."

"Giles, in case you missed that part of the conversation the other day, Xander got married to Anya on Saturday. The only time he's offered to patrol with me in the last year was when he came back to town after he ran away from the wedding. Now he's back with his honey-bun I don't think touring the graveyards will feature in his itinerary."

Giles cleared his throat. "I also think you should perhaps try to talk Xander into letting Spike hit him while he's carrying the orbs, to see if he does still register as human."

"That'll make his day." Buffy was amazed to see the blond vamp shaking his head. "It won't make his day? Hang on, Giles." Buffy lowered the phone and turned her attention to the vamp whose lap she was currently occupying. "What's up?"

"Won't work, pet. Whether he's a human or a demon, Rupert just said those things give him invulnerability. If I can't hurt him the chip won't go off …unless you want me to try a rocket launcher?" he suggested with a wicked grin.

"I think that would be taking curiosity a shade too far?" she tried to sound disapproving, but she knew for Anya's sake if nothing else he wouldn't follow through.

"Giles? Did you catch that? Spike says the chip wouldn't go off even if it picked Xander up as a human because he knows he couldn't hurt him. Ooh wait, I've an idea. Blind taste test. If Spike were to hit Xander without actually knowing if he had the orbs, then it would work, wouldn't it?" Spike nodded his agreement.

"Quite. Well I shall leave you to sort out the details, shall I?"

"What about the other thing then?" Buffy asked.

"So far, I've only come across records of two humans being claimed, neither seemed to suffer any adverse effects and both seemed to age slower than might be expected. One lived with his mate for eighty years whilst he appeared to age only ten or fifteen years over this time. However, when his mate died his years seemed to catch up with him over a relatively short period of time. When he died four years later he judged that he appeared to be about eighty-five.

The girl in the second case died with her lover when the house they were resting in was burned to the ground. They had been together for twenty years and she showed little if any sign of ageing over that period, but she was definitely still human as she was often seen out and about in daytime.

As yet, I haven't come across any information about any slayers being claimed.

So, all in all, things look quite promising, if you're sure you want to go ahead, but there's a lot more research still to do. I don't think two cases is sufficient basis to say you would be in the clear and neither of them were slayers."

"So basically you're still looking for a reason to say no, but you haven't found it yet," the slayer reasoned.

"You could put it like that, though if we could prove it were safe, a mutual claim would be more appropriate than a continuation of the situation as it stands."

"Okay, give our love to Olivia and call me when you find anything new, otherwise I'll be in touch when we manage to book a church."

"Goodbye, Buffy."

"Bye, Giles."

Buffy turned to her companion. "Time to boogie, Blood Breath." She kissed the end of his nose and then levered herself out of his lap, staying close enough that he had to brush against her to stand up. He pushed himself out of the chair and put his hands on her hips, resting his forehead against hers.

"All staked up?"

Quicker than the eye could see Buffy had a stake in her hand. Spike had no more idea where she hid them now they were dating than he had had when they used to fight for real. "You?"

Spike flexed his arms and he had a stake in each hand. He gave them a gun-slinger type twirl before they disappeared into his sleeves again.

"Okay then, let's go kick some demon butt." Buffy took his hand and drew him toward the door.

* * * * *

**__**

Thursday Early morning

Spike dialled Giles home phone number. He paced the living room as he waited to be connected, wondering if this was a good idea. He tried to convince himself that he would be losing nothing by asking, and that he didn't care if the answer was no. Somehow it didn't seem to work.

After two rings he heard an automated message, but that had been what he wanted. He knew Giles should be at work.

"Watcher. It's Spike. I've got kind of a big favour to ask you. I haven't said anything to Buffy about it, 'cause if she knew and then you said no she might be disappointed, which is the reverse of what I'm hoping for. I didn't want to embarrass you into saying yes either, so if you don't bring it up I'll never mention this message again. Now, I'm asking for her, not for me, except once we're married it's sort of a package deal so I could understand you saying no but what I want is this…"

By the time he finished rambling nervously he had to redial the number and leave a second message to make his request as he had been cut off. After that he just had to wait to see if Giles rang back when he got home. He sat himself on one of the stools that tucked under the breakfast bar and turned his attention to the book he'd brought from Buffy's the previous night while he waited. There were still boxes and bags from his and Buffy's shopping trip in a pile in the corner, but keeping his promise to Dawn took precedence.

Buffy yawned as she watched Tara flip pancakes for breakfast. She had been going to make breakfast for at least her and Dawn this morning, but Tara had beaten her to it. Buffy was sure there should be a law against anyone who was that much of a morning person. Maybe she could go back to bed once the others left, or go visit Spike and both go back to bed together.

"She's gone, again." It had only taken one brief glance at her sister's dreamy smile for Dawn to work out where her head was at this morning.

"What? No I'm not. Right here ready to eat yummy pancakes with my sister before she goes to school."

Tara flipped the first few onto her plate and started on the next batch, smiling at Dawn and Willow as they came in the room together. "Morning, sweeties."

"Hey, Will." Buffy passed her plate over to Dawn. "Here, you take these, I'll get some once all the people who have to leave early have been fed."

Willow gave Tara a hug before she grabbed a stool and took a seat at the island. "Hey, Buff, you owe me big time. Xander says if you want he'll come back after he drops Dawn off at school, have a look at the basement and you can discuss what you want."

"So he's going to do it?" '_Damn, so much for sleepy Spike and silk sheets._'

"He said he'd probably have to get a couple of the other guys to help out, like Tito for the plumbing, and some other guy for the electricky stuff but he'd be able to do most of it."

"Youch. I remember Tito's prices. Well, there shouldn't be too much for him to do, I hope, and Spike said we could afford it."

"Dawn says his new place is pretty cool," Tara said.

"Yeah, it's not bad. A bit out of the way. Did you know there are five cemeteries on an almost direct route between there and here?"

"Does that mean you actually patrolled last night?" Dawn asked between mouthfuls of pancakes. "I thought that was just an excuse to get rid of me so that you guys could have loud obnoxious sex."

"Dawn. Yes, we …patrolled. We got a whole bunch a vamps and a hairy demon. It looked kinda cute at first, like an overgrown Old English sheepdog with curly horns that had learned to walk on its hind legs but then, well you know how some dogs will attach themselves to your leg, imagine one that's seven foot three… And we weren't loud and obnoxious it's just a very small flat."

"I can't imagine Spike being keen on some demon trying to move in on his territory." Tara commented, as she served up a plate of pancakes for Willow.

"Hey, I could get offended at being called territory, if it wasn't for the fact it was a female demon. So, yeah, you could definitely say he wasn't keen on having his 'territory' invaded." Buffy snickered as she remembered Spike's attempts to fend off the behemoth.

"Ew. Mental scarring in process." Dawn shovelled the last of her pancakes into her mouth, chugged her orange juice and dashed upstairs to sort out her books for school. 

"Will, is your computer all linked up to the Internet at the moment?" Buffy asked the redhead in an apparently random change of subject.

"Mmmh. In the dining room."

"So I just switch it on, click on the web browser, then Google in the favourites bit and type in what I want to do the search on… Right?"

"Sure. I've got a spare few minutes. I can give you a hand if you want once we finish breakfast."

"No. It's good. It's time I started to sort out some of the basic stuff for myself," Buffy hastily replied, blushing profusely.

"I guess, since Spike's getting that new computer for you and Dawn. Oh, you can tell him I've ordered all the bits now. When it all arrives I'll put it together over here and install all the software and stuff before we shift it to his place. He can settle up any time between now and when I pay my visa bill."

Buffy's pancakes arrived and she smothered them with syrup before she tucked in. Willow meanwhile finished hers and headed off to get ready for lectures. A car horn sounded outside and Dawn rushed downstairs and out the door with a quick, "Bye."

Buffy was still drinking her coffee when Tara finally got to sit down and eat her own breakfast. "So you're coping okay with the whole out of the closet deal then?" she asked as she used her fork to break up the pancakes into bite-sized pieces.

Buffy glanced up at her. "Ask me about that after I've explained to Xander that we want the basement soundproofed. Were you around when Will spoke to him last night?"

Tara shook her head. "Took refuge in the bath while she phoned."

"Okay, I'll just have to play it by ear. He can't hate him _that _much… Can he?"

Tara shrugged. "Xander? I think it might take a trained psychologist a decade or two to work out the inconsistencies in his brain. Spike and Anya's situations are more or less parallel in lots of ways, but he marries one and wants to stake the other. 'Course Anya's having sex with him, and Spike's violating his best friend. I mean I love him, but I'll never understand him."

"Oh well. I think I'll go check out that stuff on Will's computer before he gets here… Does it make me a bad person if part of me is wishing he'd refused? If he can't…" Buffy sighed and levered herself off her stool. She refilled her coffee cup and headed toward the dining room, not waiting to see if Tara would answer her question. 

Time to find out what that password really meant. She put the phrase into the search engine and clicked on the first site on the list. _A seed catalogue._ 'Dianthus Barbatus – a perennial wild flower from the carnation family, commonly known as Sweet William.' Sweet William. Cute… and nothing to do with anal sex. She closed down the program and switched off the computer. When Xander arrived she was busy looking through the magazines she'd brought back from LA.

****

To be continued in chapter 4.04


	25. Home Sweet Home Ch 4

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. Before they came on board, this was just one chapter running to two hundred plus pages. They helped to sort out a workable structure and are currently giving me the necessary prompting to expand on certain plot lines raised within the story so far. You can find all MadRog's stories at [www.sunnydale-tales.com][1], the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

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PREVIOUSLY: Spike's been leaving messages on Giles' answering machine and Buffy finally found out what dianthus barbatus meant while she was waiting for Xander to turn up.

****

SECTION 4 – HOME SWEET HOME

__

Take me to your heart

Feel me in your bones

Just one more night

And I'm comin' off this long and winding road…

…My heart's like an open book

For the whole world to read

Sometimes nothing – keeps me together

At the seams

I'm on my way

Well, I'm on my way

Home sweet home

Tonight tonight

I'm on my way

Just set me free

Home sweet home

(Motley Crue, Album Decade of Decadence)

****

CHAPTER 4.04

As usual Xander let himself in, calling out as he came.

"In here," Buffy shouted from the main room. 

Xander's gaze flashed across the title of the magazine she threw onto the coffee table with the others. His voice was warmer than she would have expected as he teased her, "I guess Monday lunchtime wasn't just some nightmare from my sleep-deprived brain, then?"

"Nope." She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger at him in confirmation. "All real. D'you want a coffee? There should be some in the pot if you do."

"Some caffeine would be good. Then we can discuss exactly what it is that you and Deadboy jnr. have in mind for the basement. Once I get a handle on what you want, then I can measure up, and maybe draw up some plans."

"Xander, are you okay about doing this?"

"Yes and no. I can't say I'm happy the two of you are together and when things all go to hell I'll be the first one to say I told you so. He doesn't deserve you, and I don't like the guy, but I'm not about to lose my best friend just because she's got crappy taste in men. But, then I liked Riley and it looks like that was a big mistake, so maybe if you two are still going strong a decade or so from now I might reconsider. In the meantime I can't see me and Bleachboy watching football together on Sunday afternoons, but I'll at least _try_ to keep my mouth shut when I can't think of anything nice to say." He took the coffee she poured for him and pulled out a notepad and pen from his jacket pocket.

"So, basement?" he queried.

Buffy went through what she and Spike had discussed with one minor difference. Xander raised his eyebrows when she mentioned soundproofing, but he conceded the point when she asked how he would feel if Anya and he had to share a house with a fifteen-year-old sister.

"I see what you mean, Buff, but if no-one upstairs can hear you, then you can't hear them either. So, when the next bad guy breaks in the front door and attacks Dawnster how're you going to know. You're going to need to either forget the soundproofing or install panic buttons. 

You'll probably want to replace the staircase with something more substantial or at least get all the rails finished off and stuff. Rough wood's okay for what you're using it for now, but if you're going to be trooping up to the kitchen in your jammies and bare feet… 

You'll need to put in a door leading outside for a fire exit, but it'll make it easier for slipping in after patrol without disturbing anyone. It's probably easiest done at the back, that way you're not digging under the porch. 

If you pick out a bathroom suite before we finalise the plans, then we can work round that for the dimensions. I can take you round a couple of the trade places for a look, but once we know what you want, we best sort out planning permission before you buy anything. 

That said, I can't see any reason for it to be refused _and_ I know a guy at town hall we deal with who might be able to speed up the application."

Buffy managed not to have her mouth hang open. "I guess I see now why you got that promotion. You've really got a handle on all this construction stuff."

"It's my kind of problem solving. All practical, no complicated math and no-one's feelings get hurt if you make a mistake. Let's go take a look at what we've got to work with."

"You got any idea how much this is going to run to?" Buffy asked as they headed downstairs.

"Can't say for sure. There's too many variables at the minute. I'll cost out a few different options and get back to you. It's not going to be cheap, Buff. It might cost more than it adds to the value of the house, but hopefully not."

"Not much to be done about Sunnydale property prices. It's not like I've got the option to move. Or Spike any more, either, not now. We'll worry about buying Dawn out when she wants to get her own place, wherever that ends up being."

"I would ask how Dawn felt about this whole thing but I think I got her answer at the Bronze."

"Yeah, I think she can cope with the novelty of not having to live off Double Meat Burgers and having Spike at her beck and call. He's totally whipped, but she loves him back, though I don't think she'll be saying the words any time soon. And she knows if anything happens to me, that he'll be there for her." 

"I guess." Xander made short work of measuring up. "Right, I think I've got everything I need for just now. I'll be heading back to the Magic Box, so if you want a lift into town speak now or forever… you know."

"Yeah, why not? I was going to start by phoning round some places, but I may as well see Anya then go along in person. How long do you think this'll take? The basement I mean. We kinda want it ready before the wedding."

"Buffy, if I have to come over every night after work for a month to get it finished in time, I will, but as long as the planning permission isn't held up, we should get it done just working on weekends." He gave her a goofy grin. "Chill. This is my field of expertise. You will have a subterranean studio apartment to share with your honey by the time you're legal. Scout's honour …as long as you don't organise the wedding for some time in the next month."

"I don't think even I'm _that_ crazy, though I don't think Spike would complain. Back in a minute." Buffy ran upstairs and grabbed her DMP uniform pushing it into a convenient backpack.

"You do realise that if I'm over here and the Magic Box is closed Anya will probably come with me and I expect you all to keep your platinum baby out of my hair while I'm working."

"Eww. Less with the Harmony speak." Buffy grabbed her coat from the stand by the front door, which she pulled wide for Xander to go through. "After you."

"So anyway, hear tell you've been in LA the last couple of days. Wanna make with the news? Willow said it would be worth waiting to hear it from the horses mouth."

"I think I'll wait till we get to the Magic Box. That way I only have to go through it once. Think you can go past DMP so I can hand this in?"

"Sure. How come you're not working this week anyway?"

Buffy blushed. "Long story. One I don't intend to tell."

Once again Buffy relayed her tale of recent events in LA. After she had answered all the questions the Harrises had, she and Anya moved onto other topics. Anya gave Buffy her key for the flat.

"Spike said you should have that once I finished moving my things out."

"Wait a minute," Xander interrupted. "What's Spike got to do with this?"

"Honestly, Xander, who did you think would be moving in at such short notice? How did you think I managed to have someone to sub-let to by Monday morning when we only got back from Vegas on Sunday?"

"Spike? In a proper flat?"

Buffy sighed. "As soon as we officially started dating he wanted to have somewhere Social Services could check out if they started asking questions."

"Guess he isn't as much of a waste of space as I thought," Xander commented. 

"If that surprises you, then you don't know half as much about him as you think you do," Buffy answered. 

"Okay. Truce. Spike's a sweetie-pie and butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Even if he didn't have his electronic leash he would never even hit a human much less suck their life-blood from their helpless body." All but Xander's request for a truce came out heavily tinged with irony.

"Yeah, very funny, but you have just reminded me that Giles wants him to hit you. But we've got to work it out. Ooh, and Giles says not to use the orbs unless you're expecting trouble or helping patrol, because they've never been used by a human before and we don't know what side-effects there might be."

Xander and his wife both responded simultaneously, Anya proving the more persistent of the two.

"Rewind to the bit about–"

"Wait, are you saying we're not allowed to use them when we're having sex. I mean they make things a bit uncomfortable but Xander could never do the cascade thing before."

"Anya, I'm just repeating what Giles told me, maybe Xander should speak to him directly if he wants advice on his sex life… I didn't mean that the way it sounds, not that I'm saying Giles would be without valuable experience to impart… okay, shutting up now," Buffy babbled.

"What were you saying about Giles wanting Spike to hit me?" Xander asked.

"Giles wants to see if Spike's chip still detects you as human when you're using the orbs, but he can't know you're using them when he hits you or it won't work because if he knows he can't hurt you the chip won't fire. So we have to do it sort of like a taste-test thingy."

"Great. I should have known that a present from Spike would have strings attached," Xander sighed. 

"Look, all I know is Giles said don't use them unless it's important and watch for any odd behaviour either when you're using them or after.

I've got some stuff to do round town. I'll catch up with you guys later. Maybe we could have a video night tonight or something, if Dawn finishes her homework early enough. I'll call you." Buffy walked backwards toward the door as she spoke, casting only occasional glances over her shoulder. She ducked through the door with a feeling of relief. She should have time to make it to the college and speak to someone before lunch if she didn't take too long getting there.

* * * * *

**_Thursday Mid-afternoon_**

"Whatcha doin'?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I was putting together furniture, but now I'm too busy chattin' up some bird on the phone to bother with that," Spike replied.

"D'you think you could have your place fit for polite company by tomorrow afternoon?" Buffy asked cautiously.

"Probably. How polite are we talking?"

"Em… well… tea with the minister."

"Bloody hell! You're not asking much, are you? And will you be joining us for this little soirée?" Spike's tone was sarcastic but good-humoured.

"I'll be there. Look, normally we'd have to go to a load of services. He just wants to meet you before he'll make a decision on whether he'll perform the ceremony."

"If he's trying to work out whether I'm a fine upstanding Christian he's going to have problems, pet."

Buffy sighed. "I don't know what exactly it is that he wants, but he's at least prepared to consider doing it. You can't blame him for wanting to meet you. Even in Sunnydale it can't be every day someone tells him they want to marry a demon."

"It's okay, love. I'll be on my best behaviour, provided he doesn't pull a stake on me."

"Need a hand with that furniture?" Buffy asked.

"M' all but done, pet. Put together one of the bookcases and the normal desk and I'm just finishing off the computer desk. Really just the swivel chairs to do. All the rest can go in the cloakroom for now and wait till the basement's done. But, if you wanted to come over I'm sure we could find some other things to fit together, though I should be leaving for your place in about an hour to be there for Bit getting home."

"How about you leave now, pick me up outside Starbucks and we get an hour together before Dawn's due home?"

"What about the witches?"

"I don't think they'd be interested in joining us."

"Far be it from me to waste time arguin' then, pet." Buffy snorted at the other end of the line. "I'll pick you up in five or ten minutes. Don't fancy pickin' up a large espresso while you're waiting, love?"

"Sure. See you soon."

The DeSoto cut through the afternoon traffic like a shark moving through a shoals of unwary fish. When it pulled over, Buffy opened the door the narrowest possible amount and squeezed through, a coffee cup balanced in either hand. She had to suppress a smile when she looked over in Spike's direction.

"Yeah, I know it lacks a certain sartorial elegance, but it makes the neighbours less suspicious than wandering around with a blanket."

The 'it' in question was a super-thick black hooded sweatshirt, several sizes too large for him so that he had to push back the sleeves to free his hands for driving. She suspected with the hood up he would merely need to look downwards for his face and neck to be hidden in shadow.

"Not really _you_, but like you say it beats the blanket." She sat the coffees on the floor and leant toward him, her hands framing his face, for a kiss, which he was quick to return. The tender touch of his soft lips against hers sent flares of heat along her nerve endings. Their hands roved all over the other's bodies in search of bare flesh, but Buffy was recalled to her senses when she felt a cool hand on her inner thigh and moving slowly upward.

"Not in the middle of Main Street. Home. Now. Fast," she said as she pulled away from his questing hands, picking up the coffees once more. For a second, Spike looked as if he might protest, but then he just seemed to cast a glance through the minute cracks in the paint at a mirror she hadn't been able to use without rolling down the window and pulled out into the traffic.

Five minutes later they pulled up in the shade next to the house. Spike was out the car and across the bonnet so quickly that he had her door open before she could put down one of the coffees to work the handle. He took one of the cups from her and grasped her newly freed hand pulling her toward the house. She strained against his grip long enough to push the car door shut with her foot before following him.

The front door opened at his touch and as he pulled her in he asked, "what is it with you lot and the watcher? Nobody ever teach you to lock your doors?" She pushed the door shut with her foot only to find herself sandwiched between it and an extremely hard male body. His lips pressed against hers with sufficient pressure that she had to open her mouth to prevent her teeth cutting into the inside of her mouth. Her hands, one still holding the coffee snaked around his neck and she lifted one leg her knee hooking over his hip as if it were possible to pull him even closer.

"Hey, Buffy …Spike."

Willow stopped dead for a second after she came out of the dining room to greet her friend before deciding it was best to pretend she'd been on her way to the kitchen. The pair pulled their lips apart for long enough to manage a "Red," and a "Hey, Will," in return.

Spike took a half step back and slipping one arm behind Buffy's knees and the other around her back somehow managed to pick Buffy up without breaking off the kiss again.

As he carried her to her room Buffy managed to call out, "we'll be back down before Dawn's due in from school!"

Willow had to smile at the comment. Buffy had looked more than a little embarrassed at Willow's appearance. On the other hand, Spike just didn't give a damn for propriety and yet a fifteen-year-old had him so twisted round her little finger that in three quarters of an hour he'd be back downstairs, properly dressed and playing the English tutor. He was whipped.

For an instant she almost felt sorry for them. It was like they… well, they did have the kid before they got the honeymoon. Then when she thought about how they both felt about Dawn she realised neither one would want things any different.

****

To be continued in chapter 4.05

   [1]: www.sunnydale-tales.com



	26. Home Sweet Home Ch 5

Yes, it's another one of those rude, crude nasty chapters you wouldn't want your mother to catch you reading. If you want to go direct to the chapter then copy and paste the following into the address box on your browser and hit return. Don't forget you can use the "Back" button on your browser to return here and leave a review.

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If you want to check the daily updates on The Crypt use this address instead.

http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/dates.htm

And if you want to check out all the lovely BtVS fanfic at the site by author then use

http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk/crypt.htm


	27. Home Sweet Home Ch 6

Okay, this chapter might really fall within the R rating that ff still allows but to play on the safe side I'm still sending you somewhere else. You could try checking out my brand spanking new website at http://www.he-s-no-angel.net. You'll find a link to the new chapter from either the updates page or the story summaries page. 

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	28. Home Sweet Home Ch 7

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike had this feeling that he'd done something that upset Buffy, so he ordered lots of flowers. Xander and Anya arrived at the same time as the delivery driver. Buffy and Willow had locked the front door when they went to the video store. Xander didn't recognise the cowled figure that opened the door and thought Spike was an intruder so he activated the Orbs of Nezzla Khan which he had been carrying on him, but had originally kept separated. The situation seemed to be diffused until Xander heard the florist mention charging Spike for his regular order, and accused Spike of cheating on Buffy. Knowing Xander was invulnerable, Spike lashed out verbally and stomped off to Buffy's room. Buffy and Willow arrived back just in time to catch the end of Spike's tirade. She went to go after him, but Xander grabbed her arm trying to explain Spike's duplicity. Buffy told Xander to get his mind out of the gutter and pulled free going after Spike.

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SECTION 4 – HOME SWEET HOME

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Take me to your heart

Feel me in your bones

Just one more night

And I'm comin' off this long and winding road…

…My heart's like an open book

For the whole world to read

Sometimes nothing – keeps me together

At the seams

I'm on my way

Well, I'm on my way

Home sweet home

Tonight tonight

I'm on my way

Just set me free

Home sweet home

(Motley Crue, Album Decade of Decadence)

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CHAPTER 4.07

Buffy knocked on her own room door, before she pushed it slowly open. As she'd expected, she was greeted by a waft of cigarette smoke. Spike was prowling round the room like a caged tiger on speed.

"Hey," she said in a soft voice. He turned to face her, his eyes automatically softening, but she could see he was still fighting the rage within him. She walked over to her dresser and pulled open one of the drawers to take out a ceramic ornament. "Catch," she said as she tossed it in his direction. "In case you feel the need to smash something."

He hefted the statuette in his hand checking its weight and balance before he actually looked at it and saw what she didn't like about it. A big strong Fred was carrying a seemingly grateful Daphne to safety in the best Scooby Doo tradition. Anger faded into amusement and his eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch. "Present from soldier boy?"

"You guessed it." She swayed over to him.

"Not in the mood for smashing stuff now, but if you want I could do it as a public service."

"We can save it …for the next time Xander acts like a total ass." She took the offending article from him and sat it on the dresser. Then she took the half-smoked cigarette from his hand and dropped it into the remains of her mocha from earlier.

"So, other than implying that my mom was some two-bit ho that you were sneaking around with behind my back, what else did he say to get you that worked up?" Buffy asked.

"Wha'? How?"

"Just because you don't leave a card doesn't mean I haven't got a brain. I know Dawn doesn't get enough allowance to pay for fresh flowers every week. I knew it wasn't me and if Dad had been that thoughtful they wouldn't have been divorced in the first place.

I had my suspicions for a while, but after Saturday I was sure. I've been in your head, remember." 

"S'pose, and yeah, that was pretty much it," Spike conceded.

"Why didn't you ever leave a card?"

"'Cause if I did Harris would probably have staked me. Him and Red all but physically chucked me off the property when I tried to leave flowers outside the house after. Said Joyce meant nothing to me and the only reason I bothered was to try to get in your knickers. As long as I didn't put my name on the card, it'd never occur to him that it might be me. Not the sort of thing an evil soulless git would do, not in his book, anyway."

"God, Spike, I'm sorry. I didn't know," Buffy apologised. "If I'd known… I mean, back then, I didn't get the thing between you and mom. But I got that there was a thing that I didn't get."

"Ancient history, pet. Don't worry 'bout it." His hands came up to cradle her neck, thumbs brushing her jaw-line as he tilted his head to come in for a kiss. Her hands fisted in the front of his sweatshirt as she pulled him toward her. He tasted of smoke and mints and she lost herself in him until he pulled her tight against him.

"Ah. Ow." She pushed away from him to get a look at her forearm, which had been crushed between them. His gaze followed her own to where a large handprint showed a livid darkening purple just above her wrist.

"Spike, no. Don't," but it was too late, Spike was already out the door and running down the stairs, leaving Buffy to trail behind.

"Harris, you bastard…"

"Will, don't. It was an accident."

"Bollocks, accident. You don't get bruises like that accidentally."

Spike hauled a stunned looking Xander up off the couch by his shirt front, before sending him back into it with a nose-breaking punch, which in turn caused the headache that brought the vampire to his knees in a screaming heap. 

Xander rose to his feet again, wiping away a stream of blood from his nose but Buffy managed to get between the two before Xander could make a move on the vampire. Willow meanwhile rushed to shut the curtains in the room to prevent the now smouldering member of the undead community from bursting into flames, a situation he seemed to be only just becoming aware of. He pulled up the hood on the sweatshirt and let the material fall over his hands, but still he struggled to rise to his feet, his eyes a swirl of midnight blue and golden fire.

"Xander, just tell him it was an accident. You forgot you had the orbs, right?"

For a second, Xander stood there bemused by what was going on, but then Buffy's words penetrated his brain and his gaze moved from her face to the arm she held extended to keep him back from the vampire.

All of a sudden Xander fled for the front door of the house, yanking it open and falling to his knees on the front porch as his lunch and a packet of Cheetos made a reappearance. 

"I know Giles wanted you to hit Xander, Spike, but I think making his nose bleed and making him throw up his lunch is a bit much," Anya surveyed the scene as she returned from the kitchen with a beer in either hand.

Spike merely pulled himself to his feet and took one of the open beers from her hand. "Ta, pet. I don't think your other half is going to be wanting one just yet."

"_Spike!_"

"What?" The vampire turned to look at the former ex-vengeance demon.

"They were both for me," she said, looking distinctly put out by the fact that Spike had now drunk at least half of the bottle in one pouring motion.

It was only Spike's vampiric hearing that let him catch Janice's comment from the top of the stairs. 

"I don't know why you come to mine to watch Jerry Springer when your house is like this."

Buffy looked at the chaos surrounding her. "Will, Anya, you two want to check on Xander? I'm going to take Blondie here upstairs and try to find some migraine tablets. Dawn, you and Janice, back in your room or you can clean up the porch." 

"That's so not fair. Xander made the mess," pouted Dawn, but went back to her room regardless.

"Tablets'll wear off too quick for it to be worth takin' them, pet." Spike sat on the edge of the bath while Buffy ransacked the bathroom cupboard for headache pills.

"What makes you think they're for you? Maybe it's the thought of you and Xander in the same house that's giving _me_ a headache," Buffy teased.

"Sorry if I upset you, love."

"But not the least bit sorry for hitting Xander, I suspect."

Spike gave a small chuckle before replying, "no, can't say as I am. Even if it wasn't deliberate, he's still got to be responsible for how he uses those things."

"Well, I think he realises his mistake now, so leave it alone, okay?"

"'Kay. Are you okay? Your arm I mean. It is just a bruise?"

"I'll be fine… Nothing that won't sort itself out in a day or two. So, are you going to tell me why there's half a florists shop downstairs," Buffy prodded.

"'Cause I told her not to bother with the stuff you would need to find a vase for?"

"Funny. Spill."

"You seemed sort of …edgy, before, and I didn't know if it was something I'd done, or maybe didn't do, or whether you were working up to telling me something or what, but I figured a pleasant surprise wouldn't do any harm, whatever. Enter Harris and the whole thing goes to hell."

"If you did something wrong, then we _both_ did." She closed the bathroom cabinet and took a seat next to Spike, her attention apparently focussed on her most recent footwear acquisition. "I can't say I felt entirely comfortable with the idea we can't keep our hands off each other, even when Dawn's two feet away."

"You're uncomfortable." Spike snorted, not noticing Buffy's answering glare. "Scares me shitless …but it's a good scared.

It's part of how we're right together." He reached over and took her unresisting hand in his. "I don't ever want to look at you across a room and not want you. 

But, I don't want you wandering around all day guilt-ridden 'cause we had a quickie with the Niblet next door either, so if we find ourselves in a similar situation I'll try to have a bit more self-control …not that I'm makin' any guarantees, 'cause you know you're irresistible, right?"

"Hmpf, tell that to your predecessors. And who are you to talk, Mr Sexy-Swagger Eyes-to-Die-For Energiser-Bunny Vampire? But we _try_, next time rather than just give in."

Before she could work out quite how he did it, he'd scooped her up into his lap and put a chaste kiss on her lips. "So is that it? Or did I piss you off when I asked you to wait to claim me, as well?"

"Not piss-off, not exactly." Buffy kept her eyes focussed on the dip at the base of his throat.

He kept his voice soft, trying to coax her out. "Then what exactly?"

"I… the way you want it. I can't do it." She flicked a glance over his face trying to gauge his response, only to find his expression so deliberately neutral that she knew he was masking his feelings. "I mean, I want to do it. It's just all the blood stuff, not a turn on. I want to have the bond, but the idea of biting you and drinking your blood, and is it even _your_ blood, or is it just the pig blood that you had for dinner?"

He smiled softly. "It's my blood. Otherwise you would have people turning themselves by slaughtering innocent pigs… So what do you want to do?"

"I think I want to do it, but it can't be all moonlight and roses and soft seduction. It's not a sensual thing for me. It's got to be all endorphins and adrenaline."

"You're saying if I want you to claim me, it'll have to be during a good hard shag?"

She nodded her head against his chest.

"Pet, that's okay. Like you say, maybe not exactly what I had in mind, but it's not like we can't have the gentler stuff after, is it?"

She didn't answer him in so many words, but her hands wrapped themselves around his neck and she shifted against him till there was no gap between their bodies, letting her cheek rest against his shoulder. And they stayed like that until they heard Tara at the front door. 

"Glinda."

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Tara."

The blonde pair strolled downstairs hand in hand as Tara was pushing the door closed.

"Is that stuff on the porch some sort of demon goo or is it just what it looks like?"

"Harris goo."

"I guess that means they decided to leave the mess for me to clean up," Buffy sighed.

"Harris made the bloody mess. Let him clear it up."

The two women exchanged glances and then looked at Spike as if he'd lost his mind. 

"What? …Why're you two lookin' at me like I'm some sorta moron?"

Buffy tilted her head as she watched him. "For one thing, there's no polite way to ask him to do it. For another, if he tried it might end up making him ill again and for a third, there's a chance they're still trying to set his nose and stop it bleeding. Whatever, he'll be doing the guy thing and playing up for sympathy."

"Yeah, well, as I recall your standard bedside manner consists of the phrase 'You'll live'. An' if you're worried about being rude then I'll bloody tell him to do it. Nobody expects me to be polite."

"No you won't!" Buffy hissed loudly at him. "You will not embarrass me in front of my friends. Look, just ring up... Actually maybe we'll wait till later to get the pizzas. Just take Tara through, get her a beer if she wants one. 

I'd rather do it myself, anyway, than have Xander do a half-ass job and have to try to get rid of it when it's dried on."

Buffy ducked out the front door and started to make her way round to the back of the house to get the hose. Spike told himself that he should do as she said. No way was he cleaning up the Whelp's bloody puke. But no way was he letting her lift that hose reel and run round after that git when her arm was in that state. His gaze darted back and forward between the door and Tara for a few seconds before he made up his mind.

"Pixie, you know where the fridge is. Help yourself." Adjusting the sweatshirt so it would protect him from the rays of the setting sun he dashed after his girl.

Buffy looked up as he came round the corner, not fooled by his sudden change to walking pace. "What now?" she asked irritably as she struggled to find a way to pick up the heavy reel so that it wasn't resting against her bruised arm.

"Thought maybe I could help."

"But why?"

Spike shrugged. "'Cause you're hurt and I'm not. 'Cause I don't think it's right you havin' to do it. 'Cause you're better than that."

"How about 'cause the sun hasn't set yet and you could catch fire… I appreciate the thought but I don't think you should be taking chances with Mr Sunlight."

"Then leave it and I'll get it later. Sun'll be down in an hour or so."

Buffy sighed. "Compromise. You carry that round to the front of the house and then get your melanin-deprived ass back inside, and I'll hose it off. It can't be any worse than cleaning the gents after a weekend late shift at DMP."

Spike picked up the heavy reel without comment carrying it round to the tap at the front of the house and hooking it up. Buffy grabbed the other end of the hose before Spike could. She'd noticed his lack of agreement re the division of labour. The porch was soon damp, but free of debris. Spike hung back by the door.

"I woulda got it for you, pet," he said.

"I know …but maybe I think you're better than that," she told him.

For once, the vampire was stunned into silence.

To say things were tense when the blonde duo walked into the front room would be like saying Pavarotti could sing a bit. Spike was staring daggers at Xander. Xander couldn't work out whether to retaliate or look sheepish for Buffy's benefit. Buffy was trying to keep an eye on the room's testosterone quotient. Dawn and Janice were quietly treating the whole thing like a tennis match. Tara had found the wine that was left over from Spike and Buffy's picnic and was looking far more civilised the beer-swilling adults as she and Willow snuggled up on the sofa. Anya had got over her earlier fright and was now busy making a fuss over Xander and his busted and puffy nose.

"Spike. You broke Xander's nose. Now he may never recover his classic profile," Anya whined.

"You're telling me he's been round Buffy for six years and it's the first time he's had his nose bust. One of us must've been getting special treatment," Spike snarked.

"Spike," said Buffy in a soft voice, a plea to the vampire and she was surprised that he immediately dropped back and stood back leaning against the wall, pulling out his cigarettes and a lighter. "How's your nose, Xander?"

"It'll be fine. It'd take more than the blond bimbo to do any permanent damage," Xander answered in a subdued tone. "What about your arm?"

"Just bruised. A few days and it'll heal right up. Don't sweat it."

"Look, Buffy, I'm really sorry. I didn't realise how tight I was holding you. I know it's no excuse, but you have to know that I would never deliberately hurt you."

"If you really meant that, you wouldn't be trying to cause trouble between me and Spike and I wouldn't have this bruise. He's right. You don't know him. Either get to know him or just stay away from him, but don't …just jump to all the worst conclusions then start throwing accusations about. I'm sick of it." 

Buffy moved over into Spike's waiting arms, looking up to give him a smile of thanks for staying quiet. Spike returned the smile and asked, "Anybody need another drink?" 

"It's okay, Spike, I'll get them. Beer right?" Tara offered, scanning round the room for any other takers.

"Yeah, pet. Thanks." Spike treated her to a glowing smile as his arms settled more firmly around Buffy, only moving to take a draw from his cigarette or to flick ash into the fireplace.

"Well, how about we skip to the filmed drama rather than the real stuff?" suggested Willow as she picked up the first of the tapes and slotted it into the machine.

A few minutes later the trailers finished and a disgruntled English voice asked, "Alright, which one of you two is the evil bint responsible for this?" The opening titles of Coyote Ugly moved across the screen.

The rest of the evening passed without further incident. The men in the group were slightly mollified by the Jet Li film that followed the blatant chick flick. Xander even played nice and said he'd leave his plans and sketches for the basement so that Buffy and Spike could look through them together and discuss the various alternatives. Of course, he still didn't actually speak to Spike, but then no-one expected miracles.

Everything more or less broke up when Buffy and Spike walked Janice home. It seemed to instigate a general parting of the ways. The pair had planned on doing a patrol after they finished escort duty, with a stop at Spike's flat at some point in the night. Things turned out slightly differently.

"Spike, I kinda wanna just go home now… curl up in bed… get some sleep. This whole thing with Xander… and patrolling injured… not a great plan."

"Oh… right then… I'll see you home and do a quick sweep before I head for my place."

Buffy sighed. "I was hoping you would come with. Keep the bad dreams away? …if you think you could just sleep."

"Maybe," Spike answered, his head tilted forward and a mischievous grin matching the sparkle in his eyes. "…if I get a cup of cocoa first."

"With little marshmallows," Buffy agreed. "We could have a look through Xander's plans. See if there's something we like… then we've got the morning to ourselves… well, together anyway. I don't know who else will be around."

"Slayer, shhh. You had me as soon as you asked. And I was going to ask to be excused from the sexcapades tonight anyway. I've got a stinkin' headache." He squeezed the hand he was holding and then released it in favour of slipping his arm around Buffy's shoulders.

****

To be continued in chapter 5.01


	29. The Things We Do For Love Ch 1

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read. And as of late, you can find all mine at www.he-s-no-angel.net. 

****

PREVIOUSLY: Buffy's arm was hurt when Xander tried to restrain her whilst using the Orbs of Nezzla Khan. Spike stayed the night at Revello Drive.

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SECTION 5 – THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

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A compromise would surely help the situation

Agree to disagree, but disagree to part

Well after all it's just a compromise

For the things we do for love

(10CC, Album Deceptive Blends)

****

CHAPTER 5.01

Each time Spike woke up with Buffy in his arms it made it harder for him to go back to sleeping alone. This time, at least, it looked like her alarm was going to go off before she got to the "interesting" dreams. Okay. Who was he kidding? There weren't words to describe how it made him feel to hear the woman he loved moan his name in her sleep with the scent of her arousal in the air. Well, there were, but they were words like effulgent, and so best avoided.

Spike reckoned he had ten minutes to wake Buffy gently before her alarm went off. He pulled her closer with the arm that circled her waist and brushed open-mouthed kisses against her satin covered shoulder, taking care not to dampen the fabric. He moved ever closer to her neck and she began to stir, until shifting her injured arm she came abruptly awake. When she stretched she brushed against him in a hundred delicious ways, satin against skin and he gave a contented moan that came awfully close to being a purr.

"Morning, baby. How's the arm, pet?"

Buffy rolled over in his arms to give him a kiss before replying, "better than it was. Morning, Dead Boy. What time is it?"

"About five minutes before your alarm's going to go off. I was just going to go brush my teeth and see to breakfast. Anything special you fancy, bearing in mind we decided I'm not on the menu until after 'Bit's off to school?"

"In that case, I'll make do with a crispy bacon sandwich and some nice fresh coffee."

"Want me to bring that up, or do you want to eat downstairs."

Buffy seemed to consider for a couple of seconds. "Down, like watching you cook."

Spike, smiled even brighter at her answer and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, Miss Summers."

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr the Bloody? Say, what is my married name going to be?" 

Spike shrugged as he made his way around the bed. "I was thinking maybe Duffy. What d'you think?" He ducked through the door just before the pillow hit it.

Buffy scrambled out of bed and set off in pursuit. "I am not going to spend my life as Buffy Duffy just to satisfy your warped sense of humour."

Spike drooled toothpaste foam into the sink as he tried to brush and keep from laughing at her indignance. 

"This is not funny. What was your real name?"

Spike spat and rinsed, suddenly serious. "What happened to the Romeo and Juliet quotes, pet? I swore when I was turned that my misdeeds would never bring the family name into disrepute. I've kept to that for more than a century. If you want to know the name, I'll tell you, but it won't be the name I'll be married under." His eyes glowed golden and his demon ridges came to the fore.

Buffy wondered if she'd overstepped the mark until she noticed he had been busy putting more toothpaste on his brush as he spoke. "Okay, fine. I can wait till you want to tell me then, but what about the name you are going to use. You're going to have to get some ID sorted out so we can get the licence and everything."

"I spoke to someone yesterday about getting some made. I should get everything back within a couple of weeks." Spike got to work on cleaning up his fangs, or at least getting them as clean as they'd come.

"So you must know what name you're going to use."

"Mommov." Buffy just crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and tapped her tiny bare foot, which brought Spike's attention entirely to her slender golden legs sticking out from under the black satin pyjama top.

Spike again got to the rinse and spit stage and turned his attention back to the argument in hand. "Look, pet. How about we discuss this after breakfast. Nothing's settled yet. He won't be starting work before Monday, and I'd rather not be distracted while I'm shaving." 

Buffy gave a snort before she grabbed her own toothbrush, toothpaste and tumbler, taking them over to the bath. She couldn't resist watching him as he shaved. For some reason she'd expected him to use the old-fashioned soap that came in stick form and was applied with a brush, not an aerosol can. A disposable razor seemed even more out of place. She'd imagined an open razor and a big leather strap.

"This is the first time I've seen you shave."

Spike shrugged before continuing his ritual. "Only bother every other day or so. You haven't necessarily been around." It didn't take him long to finish off and he made sure to leave the sink sparkling clean. An understated splash of that spicy cologne that smelled so good on him and by the time Buffy had brushed her teeth and washed her face, he was ready to go. "Why don't you check that your sister's up and take her order and I'll go and get the coffee started?" Spike suggested.

Buffy was in two minds as to whether she should get dressed before she went downstairs or not. In one sense it was pointless because once she and Spike got the name thing sorted out they weren't going anywhere other than the privacy of her bedroom.

On the other, the blond butt-pain could just have told her what she wanted to know without the whole Mr Mysterious act and as for that Buffy Duffy crap …so not funny.

There was also the fact that, okay, the top covered more than any swimsuit and most of her skirts in high school come to that and she had bought several pairs of matching french knickers during her LA trip. It wasn't as if she was going to flash the room if she bent over. Something still made her feel slightly uncomfortable though. Was it all too …intimate? Especially with Spike downstairs in the matching bottoms looking like he'd walked straight off the set of some martial arts movie…or a porn film. Not that she'd seen any real porn films but she could imagine.

Okay, Spike was downstairs looking like a wet dream and she was up here? Who cares what Xander thinks when he shows up? Willow and Tara would deal. Dawn had seen it all before. Well, not semi-naked Spike, but her. Semi-naked Spike she'd just have to learn to live with.

Buffy wandered downstairs to find coffee already brewing and the smell of cooking bacon coming off the frying pan.

"Dawn says since it's you cooking she'll have French toast. When she thought it was me she was going to have cereal. How's that for making you feel appreciated."

Good for me, I'd say. Not so good for you. Any other signs of life or is it just the three of us?" Spike asked as he set about preparing Dawn's breakfast

"So far. Give it another five minutes before you write them off though."

"D'you want juice or are you sticking with the coffee?"

"I could have some juice while I'm waiting for the coffee." Buffy decided

A couple of minutes later Buffy was munching on her sandwich when Tara came downstairs, fully clothed. "Hey, you two. You beat me to the cooking."

"Yeah, we've had bacon going in one pan and french toast in the other. What d'you fancy?"

"I'll go with the french toast and I think it's safe to say Willow will too, if that's okay?" Tara answered.

"Easy." Spike added some more eggs to the bowl he was whisking before cutting the crusts off of about half a loaf of bread.

Buffy's cheeks brightened and she piped up. "Speaking of Willow, I was supposed to give you a message yesterday. She said she'd ordered all the bits for your PC. She's going to build it here, get everything working and then move it to your place. She says you can pay her any time between now and when she has to pay her credit card bill."

"Money's upstairs, pet. Just need to know how much she needs." Spike looked over at Tara. "Are you or Red going to be about when the Niblet gets out of school today. Buffy 'n' me have got an appointment and I don't know how long it'll take."

Buffy interrupted before Tara could reply. "I think it might be good if she came to your place, actually. That way …your guest could meet us as a family. Gives you an extra person to speak up for you."

"Okay. Fancy going out somewhere for dinner afterwards?"

"If you're sure. You don't have to. You've already spent a fortune this week."

"I'm sure," Spike replied. "It means I've got something to bribe the Bit with if she thinks about saying who we're seeing."

Dawn breezed into the room at this point and Spike served up the first of the french toast, dumping it on a central plate and letting the girls fight it out.

"Hey, Spike," Dawn teased. "Can I have Janice sleepover one night when you're staying. She'd probably faint clean away if she saw what you've been hiding under that duster."

"Very funny, Bit. An' if it wasn't just 'family' that's around I'd be getting dressed before I came downstairs. Now eat."

Buffy and her sister sorted out the details for after school and Dawn managed to talk them round into agreeing to a Bronze trip after the restaurant.

"If Janice's mom let her meet up with us, I could stay at hers tonight and then the two of you could stay at Spike's instead of having to be here for me," Dawn suggested slyly.

"We'll see," said Buffy. "Pack an overnight bag and I'll take it over to Spike's for you. We can leave it in the car once you've changed, but that doesn't mean it's definite."

Dawn grinned as she bounded up the stairs. She knew that Buffy might as well have said yes. It was so cool. 

By the time Xander showed up, to pick up Dawn, everybody except Willow had finished eating breakfast and Buffy had even put on a load of laundry and washed up as much as she could. Willow also had a bundle of sequentially numbered hundred dollar bills at her elbow. Buffy had tried to bring up the subject of surnames again but Spike had insisted it would keep until Xander had been and gone. Instead the women were back to looking through bridal magazines.

"I take it you have a favourite amongst Sunnydale's florists?" Buffy said to the blond one.

"You could say that. Once we've got a date I'll introduce you to Kate. She'll be able to cope with anything you want. Have you sorted out how many bridesmaids you want yet?"

"I don't know. It's like I have to have Dawn. She's a definite, but I want Willow too. And if I have Willow I should ask Tara. And then if I do that that means the only female Scooby I haven't asked is Anya. So, I have to ask her cause otherwise it looks like I don't like her but that might only leave Olivia and my female relatives in the congregation if we can't ask the LA bunch. And we don't have to but normally there'd be an equal number of guys and so far you've come up with Clem, who I haven't even seen since we started going out. I don't even know if he knows we're engaged."

"He knows. I've spoken to him on the phone, but it's probably not a bad idea if we swing past his place sometime soon when we patrol," Spike responded.

"Buffy, it's okay you know, if you wanted to just have Dawn and Willow. I mean you've known Willow way longer than either me or Anya," Tara intervened.

"Yeah, but if Willow's a bridesmaid and your not, you'd be on different tables," Buffy said.

"Sod that, pet. Just make the thing informal. Let everybody sit where they please. I mean how many people are we talking about when all's said and done. Twenty? Thirty? We'll only be getting a little place. Stick a podium in one corner for the speeches so everyone can see and let them go where they want." 

"Why didn't I think of that? That's right we had to try to keep my parents away from the bar and prevent bloodshed," Xander answered obviously catching Spike's point of view as he came in through the back door this time. "Eloping is much easier."

"Yeah, but you're going to have to go through it all again for that blessing Anya wants."

"True, but that is sometime hopefully far into the future, so far she might forget about it. Besides she cut the guest list down to more or less the occupants of this room after the last disaster."

"You mean the Buffalo Lodge Fiasco or BLF as it is now officially called," Willow offered.

"Great. You've got an anacronym for the worst day of my life?" Xander asked. "Hey, pretty pieces of paper." Xander's hand moved toward the pile of notes only to be rapped with Willow's fork and find himself on the receiving end of her resolve stare.

"No, they've got an _acronym_ for the worst day of _Anya's_ life," was Spike's response. 

"Whatever…" Buffy interceded, giving Spike an unfriendly glare before returning her attention to Xander. "We had a look at your sketches last night. We liked the one where the stair end is mostly laundry stroke training area with the bathroom taking up a strip in the back corner and the studio area's rectangular, rather than the ones where you end up with an L-shape room. Do you think you could do the drawings we need for planning permission based on that layout?"

"For _you_, Buffy, no problem. Now where's little sis. Time for the school going."

"I'm right behind you, Xander. Where I've been for the last five minutes. I've left that bag next to the front door, Buffy."

"Okay, see you after school," called her sister as Xander and Dawn headed out the front door.

One of Spike's smirks landed on his face. "I've got the solution to evening up the ushers and the bridesmaids. I'll take Clem, Glinda and Demon Girl. You can have Bit, Red and Harris."

"Very funny, Spike."

"What? Reckon Pixie here and Anya could look pretty cute in a sort of Edwardian school-marm way with the waistcoats and cravats and the high collars and button-holes?" He flashed Tara a grin. "What d'ya think, pet?"

"And Xander?" Buffy asked irritably before Tara could respond.

"Put him in a pink lounge suit for all I care, as long as he doesn't look like I asked him to be an usher and he gets to carry his bouquet."

"Spike!"

"You know the more I think about it the more I like it. I get three of my favourite people. You get your sister and your two best friends and everybody pairs off …as much as they ever would anyway. Dawn's always going to be stuck with Clem but at least they're friends."

"Spike, forget it. Besides you and I have another matter to settle now Xander's gone."

"Yeah, right. Excuse us ladies and I apologise in advance if the slayer entices me to use some loud and manly cuss words. After you, pet." Spike waited for the slayer to precede him into the dining room.

"Okay …you. Quit with the mysterious and tell me now. Name."

"Right then, reckoned I'd keep my original middle name. It's a bit out of date now, but it was me dad's name so I'm keepin' it, so if you find Arthur offensive, tough."

The slayer gave him an impatient look but decided that interrupting his narrative flow would be counterproductive.

"Surname took a bit more thinking about. There were some that I thought of, but then when I checked what they meant I wasn't keen. Anyway, the one I was planning to go with is apparently the patron saint of beggars and cripples, so what with the chip it seemed fairly apropos."

"Spike, stop going all Giles on me and just tell me what the damn name is!" Buffy blustered, her fist itching to connect with his nose.

"Well, actually those two requests happen to be contradictory. I thought, short of staying a Summers, that that might be the name you would pick given a choice." Spike saw Buffy trying to work up to saying something and quickly rushed ahead. "I asked the watcher. I didn't just assume it would be okay. I think he was pleased really. He's sort of stuck with me, but in a weird way it makes you and him officially family."

"Buffy Anne Giles. Buffy Giles. BAG? My initials are going to be BAG!"

"Mine aren't exactly a vast improvement, pet. Thought it would make you happy, but like I said I can change it as long as I let him know before Monday. And you could always keep Summers as a middle name. Make it B A S G."

"Too much of a mouthful. I think if I have to initial anything I'll just leave out the A."

"So it's settled then."

"Yeah. I approve …on one condition."

"Wha's that?"

"It _is_ going to be Mrs William Giles not Mrs Randy?"

Spike gave a snort of laughter. "Should bloody hope so, pet."

"Spike?" Buffy looked over at him, her eyes warm and her cheeks lightly flushed.

Spike closed the gap between them his hands coming to rest lightly on her hips. "Uh-huh?"

"Thank you… It must have been hard to ask."

"We-ell. Not as hard as certain other things could be in the near future." His body pressed against hers, leaving no doubt about his meaning as their lips met in a soft slow caress.

After a couple of minutes she finally drew back from his oral ministrations to respond to his comment, the insult coming out as a breathy sigh. "Pig."

"Yep. Me and Mr Gordo. Your two pigs."

"I've got to go tell Tara and Will."

"That I'm a pig. I think they already know, pet."

"No-o." She slapped him lightly on the arm before taking his hand and dragging him back in the direction of the kitchen.

****

To be continued in chapter 5.02


	30. The Things We Do For Love Ch 2

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

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Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read. And as of late, you can find all mine at www.he-s-no-angel.net. 

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PREVIOUSLY: Spike suggested that he have Anya and Tara as ushers leaving Buffy with Dawn, Willow and Xander as her attendants. Buffy set up a meeting between Spike and the minister at the church where she's hoping to have the wedding.

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SECTION 5 – THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

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A compromise would surely help the situation

Agree to disagree, but disagree to part

Well after all it's just a compromise

For the things we do for love

(10CC, Album Deceptive Blends)

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CHAPTER 5.02

"I still like the idea." Spike tossed a sponge cake and several packets of cookies into the shopping cart as he argued.

"And I still say, it's all right for you, but what am I meant to do with Xander. You have him and I'll have Anya." Buffy countered.

Spike shook his head. "Na-huh-hah. No way. I said two years ago he was off the usher list and he's staying off it."

"I thought you wanted me to have my perfect day." Buffy's bottom lip came out in a pout and Spike determinedly forced his attention to scanning the rows of shelves for a teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug.

"I did assume your perfect day would involve a happy smiling groom, which I won't be if Harris comes anywhere near me." Spike leant back pulling on the cart handle to bring it to a stop next to a very limited selection of crockery. '_Great, someone up there's laughing at me. I've got the choice of bright yellow or one with kittens on… Sod it, wouldn't look good if I got the gurglies._' He picked up the yellow one.

He looked over and happened to catch a glimpse of her half-angry, half-sad face and gave a sigh. "You could make him ring-bearer or something. I know it's normally a kid if you have one, but it's better than giving him a bouquet 'n' I suppose he can wear a suit s'long as it's not the same as mine and Clem and Rupe's. Okay?"

"Okay. I suppose." 

Spike smirked wondering if Buffy knew how much like her sister she sounded.

"We can have proper three piece suits like the English gentlemen and demons we are and Harris can have a dickie-bow and an elasticated cummerbund to match the bridesmaid's dresses." 

Buffy scowled at him. "You got what you wanted. Don't push your luck."

"I thought you liked it when I pushed my luck."

"That's a different type of luck and you pushed it plenty this morning. Now behave. We've only got an hour and a half before the vicar's due. You need some milk." She pulled the front of the cart off to the right. Spike managed to toss in some cold meat, some cheese and some butter before she pulled him past. Finally the pair had everything Spike deemed necessary for afternoon tea. It looked excessive to Buffy, but then she'd have given their visitor a mug of coffee and maybe a cookie or two and expected him to be thankful.

They got back to the flat with seventy-five minutes to go. The first ten evaporated while Spike finished constructing the computer desk and moved it into position at the side of the room. The still-boxed swivel chairs for the two desks were banished to the cloakroom until after the clergy had been and gone. Then Spike started on his kitchen frenzy.

She suspected his mother would have been proud. The Spike she knew would never have fussed the propriety of anything. I mean this is the same guy who took her from behind in the middle of a crowded night-club that catered largely to teens. Now he was cutting the crusts off of his cucumber sandwiches before he halved them into little triangles. He kept glowering at her as he worked, warning her of the dire consequences were she to indulge the hysterics she could feel bubbling up within her.

It was funny how the flat was starting to look like it was Spike's. The walls were still palest cream, the woodwork and kitchen units brilliant white and the carpets grey, but all round in all the rooms there were bits that were Spike. 

He'd bought a bunch of A1 clip-frames and some posters to go in them. He'd said they could pick new posters together when he moved in, something a bit more contemporary, but for now they all had a theme. All the posters were monochrome head-shots of famous film stars. In the bedroom it was Bogart and Bacall, in the living room the eclectic mix of James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and Katherine Hepburn. Marilyn Monroe was in the hall with Alec Guinness. Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to replace them. In a weird way they reminded her of her mom and the old films they would sometimes watch together.

A few small lamps and a host of candles were scattered all round the flat. They had brought some of the flowers over from Buffy's house, the ones that would tone in with his colour scheme that was. The beech and aluminium finish on the desks and bookcase managed to seem light, modern and natural all at the same time. The first few books adorned the bookcase, her mom's old complete Shakespeare, the poetry book he'd been reading that night and a few novels but he'd filled the bulk of it up with framed photos. Mostly her and Dawn and a few of their mother but there were a couple of him and Dawn together, one of him with Tara and a couple of Dawn with the two witches. None of the photos were from his old shrine. She suspected Dawn had given him some from her own personal photo album or had had copies made for him. At a guess all his photos had been downstairs. She wondered if she had destroyed all his pictures of Dru, Angelus and Darla, but couldn't bring herself to ask. Even worse, what if he'd had pictures of his human family?

There were ashtrays on every flat surface other than the floor that happened to be within arms reach of any type of seating. Now that he had wall to wall carpeting as opposed to dirt floors he couldn't just flick ash anywhere. A specially purchased wooden trunk sat behind the sofa filled with weapons, taking the place of the coffin he'd used in his crypt. His stack of Passions tapes sat by the TV. Cushions were scattered over the black leather suite and the bed in colours from deepest violet to lavender and silver grey to charcoal. It was all him, yet somehow the over all effect conveyed the home of a quieter more introspective man than she had ever taken Spike to be.

It wasn't like he'd had Sex Pistols posters all over the walls of the crypt, just the fact that it was a crypt. The scavenged furnishings had always been more about what he'd been able to find than what he would have chosen. It had only really been the rugs, the four-poster, his books and his music that had been his. She knew he'd always been particular about his personal hygiene and the crypt hadn't even had a water supply. He lived…okay, scratch that. It had been his abode for years. For a hole in the ground it had been pretty impressive. Yet it never seemed like a home or maybe it was just that it could never have been her home. Her refuge? Yes. Her home? Never. 

This place, if they were in some alternate universe where say, Dawn was headed off to college instead of looking forward to her first year of Hellmouth High, she wouldn't have freaked if they had ended up staying here and selling her mom's place.

"You do realise you're nesting don't you?" she asked him as he carried through plate after plate of sandwiches, cakes, muffins, tea-breads and cookies lying them out on the coffee-table along with cutlery, side plates with serviettes, sugar and milk.

"Your point?" he asked.

"Well, you're all domestic. All homemaking and Martha Stewart."

"You mean the flat or tea with the vicar?" he asked. "'Cause it's not like he'd get this response if he wasn't the one who can say yes or no to what you want. You want a church wedding. If this guy says no, you don't get the church you want. I can't scare him into doing it any more. So we have to play nice."

"And the flat?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, we picked almost all of this stuff together, so maybe you should be saying we're nesting, and isn't that what you would expect from two people who are about to get married."

"Can't say I noticed it with Anya and Xander, and Will and Tara's stuff just seemed to merge. You buy… okay, we buy nice stuff. You come in here now, and you think, "this looks nice". You could have bought some cheap melamine stuff that would have done the same job, without being anything special, but this stuff… When I imagine our room and what they'll look like… we're painting the walls lavender… I know it's going to feel special, and it's like I must be special too if I get to live there."

"Good. That's how you should feel. You deserve to have the best of everything. And you're not just special, you're precious." He came up to her, resting his hands on her shoulders. As if by some unseen signal they both tilted their heads forward until their foreheads rested against each other.

"You're biased," Buffy reminded him.

"Yeah, true. I'm a demon, predisposed to hate and despise you and to regard you as no more than my rightful prey. And here you are, my beginning and my end…" Words failed him, so he just let all his feelings for her show in his eyes.

Buffy realised that the pain in her chest was due to the fact she had forgotten to breathe for a couple of minutes. "If you looked at Dru like that I don't know how she ever left you."

"She knew that you'd found your way into my heart before I did. She knew she'd lost me before I knew I wanted to go."

"You still love her." Buffy made it a statement of fact not a question.

Spike shrugged. "Reckon I always will, but I'm not _in_ love with her, any more than you're in love with the Poof."

"You still think we shouldn't have him at the wedding?" Buffy asked.

"You tell me. Was the Niblet right when she said the watcher was in love with his gypsy girl?"

"Yeah, and okay, I doubt he ever told her she had stupid hair," she flashed a half smile, her eyes twinkling with amusement, "but she did use to get him all flustered. It was sweet."

"Hey. It's not fair taking the piss out of a guy that'd only just realised he was in love with you. Took me a while to come around. Besides at least when I said it was stupid you didn't cut it all off," Spike argued, displaying obviously feigned irritation.

"Just surprised I never realised at the time. You did everything but punch me on the arm and run off. How is it that it took my baby sister one evening to work it out but I never saw it at all till she told me. Did you look at me like that back then? 'Cause I don't see how I could have missed it."

"Yeah, well, chip, couldn't punch you and I never said I fell in love with you 'cause you were the brains of the family." Before she could protest Spike covered her lips with his own, effectively ending their bickering.

Thirty minutes to go and Buffy was opening every window except those in the main living room area, trying to clear the smell of smoke while Spike was nervously making more smoke to be cleared.

"Spike, it's going to be okay," she tried to reassure him. "If he was going to say no, he would have said it back at the church. Once he meets you he'll understand."

"Never said I didn't think it would be okay, pet. But don't think because he wears a dog-collar he's automatically being straight with you. This is the guy from the church Adam had those vamps attack. Even though the guy wasn't there at the time, he could still have heard enough to give him a permanent grudge against my kind and that's ignoring the fact his Bible tells him to hate us. It's possible he's only coming to do what you can't …or won't," he amended on seeing the look on her face. 

"You're serious."

"Yeah, I didn't get to be as old as I am by assuming everybody always has the best intentions."

"Do you think I'd let him lay one finger on you?"

"Way to make me feel real manly, slayer," Spike groused.

"Oops. Guess I kind of forgot you were unconscious the last time you were using my body as a shield."

"What are you talking about, you awkward bint. You know I'd never use your body as a shield."

"No, but I would. Angel's son would have finished things off while you were unconscious if I hadn't convinced him you weren't trying to kill his father."

"Great. Say, next time you're out, buy me some nappies. That way you can make me look even more pathetic."

Buffy took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Just because you're nervous doesn't mean I'm going to let you pick a fight. If he does decide to kill a demon for Jesus, then you and I both know you can't defend yourself. And it doesn't make me think you're any less a man to let me help you, but it does when you pout about it like a big …cry baby."

His eyes glittered with anger and his bottom lip came out in a pout, which made it look even fuller and more luscious than usual. "I can defend perfectly well, thank you. I just can't hit him back."

"You, like it or not, are going to be part of the Summers family and we take it personal whenever anyone tries to hurt one of ours. So count yourself lucky we didn't get to this stage sooner, or you would have had mom defending you as well as me and Dawn.

His look told her he was disgusted at the situation but her words had hit a chord. "That's one humiliation I'd have been proud to live with, love."

"Yeah. She'd have been proud of you, too. I'm not the only one who would be grateful for everything you've done for Dawn." Buffy came to sit next to him on the sofa, nudging him along so she could sit on his left instead of his right to avoid her bruised arm getting trapped between them. She tucked her feet up under her and looped her arm through his before letting her head rest on his shoulder. "You know, even if he's exactly what he seemed, we're going to get through this together. And if he does try to kill you, then we can start looking into the Vegas option. I hear evening services are the norm over there."

Spike turned to place a kiss on the top of her head. They were still cuddled up together when the doorbell rang to announce the arrival of their guest. Buffy began to rise at the sound but Spike waved her back down.

"You might have your own key, pet, but, technically you're still a guest. Park your arse." He rose and moved to answer the summons. When the door opened he was confronted by a man a few inches taller than him in his late twenties. He wore a black casual winter jacket that all but hid the dog-collar. Spike held out his hand. "You must be the vicar. We've been expecting you."

The clergyman took the proffered hand shaking it firmly but not aggressively. "Ian Hamilton. And you must be William."

"Most people call me Spike, but I still answer to William on occasion. Come in. Buffy's waiting in the living room." The vampire led the way down the narrow hallway feeling like he had a target painted on his back the entire time. When they reached the living room Spike took his guest's jacket and offered him a seat. Buffy volunteered to make the tea and coffee saying it would give the two men a chance to talk. Spike doubted that using slayer hearing in the open-plan room there would be much that she would miss.

"Okay, reverend—" Spike began.

"Ian, just Ian's fine."

Spike's smile warmed up slightly. "Okay, Ian. What do you want to know? Buffy's sister will be turning up here some time in the not too distant future when she gets out of school, so I suggest we get straight down to some plain talking and settle matters before she gets here."

"That's fine with me. I guess the first thing would be to confirm what Buffy's told me about your nature."

Spike let his face morph into demon form. The clergyman started slightly, but didn't move back. "And all the other things we hear about vampires?"

Spike chose to revert to human form before he continued the conversation. "Yeah, direct sunlight burns and prolonged exposure can kill. Holy water burns, but short of forcing someone to drink it I've never known it to kill. Crosses burn undead flesh on contact and can be used to ward off weaker vampires and a wooden stake through the heart is fatal except with the oldest and an odd one with showy gypsy magic."

"And the blood."

"Yeah. Vampires need to drink blood to survive. For the past two years I've been buying mine from the butcher's."

"And before that?"

"Before that I killed humans just like every other vampire I've ever known. Buffy is fond of reminding me that I once said that people were like Happy Meals on legs."

"Why the change?"

"I was captured by some secret government branch and used as a lab rat. When I escaped I was in no fit state to hunt and I ended up having to go to my one-time enemy for help. We made a deal. I'd tell them about the soldier boys and Buffy and her mates put me up and kept me in blood. Once I started getting stronger I was able to help out with the physical stuff and occasionally with information. At first I did it for money.

Thing is once you start living with the cattle, you stop wanting to eat steak. I've been in love with Buffy for a long time, but I'd like to think her mother and her sister were my friends before that." Spike shrugged.

"It's been a process. You can't look back and say this is the point where I changed. I should probably say it still is a process. I don't think she's ready yet to give up smoothing off the rough edges. 

What it comes down to is that I love that woman over there and I love her sister and I care about her friends and I won't do anything that would hurt any of them, other than maybe punch Harris when he really pushes his luck.

Aside from that, I've made certain promises to her and I'll do anything in my power to avoid breaking them. I've failed her before but I've never quit and I won't, no matter what happens to her." 

"Why do you want to get married?" the minister asked.

"I love her and I want to make her happy for however long we might have together. I want her to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will always be there for her, that I will never walk out of her life.

There will be people who know the truth of what I am, who will look down on her if she marries me. There are an awful lot more, who would look down on her if we lived together. Some of those people could take her sister away from her. I can't let that happen to either of them."

"So why not a civil ceremony?"

"One, Buffy wants a church wedding. She wants to be married in your church. Two, I believe in God, it's hard not to when crosses and holy water have a detrimental effect to your epidermis. I may be damned but I'm not taking her down with me. First Corinthians, chapter seven, verse nine, "…let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn." Whoever it is that decides on who goes where, he might accept a civil ceremony. He might not. Why would I want to take an unnecessary risk with her soul? However long we may have together the afterlife will be longer." 

"You read the bible?" the clergyman seemed startled.

"Not recently, but I was well-schooled in my youth," Spike replied.

There was a pause in the conversation as if the minister could think of no further questions, and Buffy rapped her knuckles on the kitchen worktop. "Can I come back in, yet?" she asked, teapot in hand.

Spike glanced over at the clergyman who gave the smallest of nods. "It's safe, pet. Either that, or he's reached that stage of the interrogation where he wants your input." Spike's half-smile was encouraging, sort of a "not out of the woods yet, but we might be getting there." His eyes, though made her insides melt, from the wealth of affection and support he let show there. She just hoped that her answering look conveyed at least a fraction of what she saw in their irresistible sapphire depths.

Clearing his throat to gain their attention the clergyman looked back and forwards between the pair. "Have you both been christened?"

Spike was the first to answer. "William was, if that counts. Christened and confirmed. C of E."

"What of what?" Buffy asked.

"Church of England, love."

The minister looked over to Buffy. "What about you, Miss Summers? Have you been christened?"

"Em, Buffy's fine. It's not like you're ancient or anything. I think so. There were some photos of me in the long white dress thingy. I assume it was a christening. And I think maybe I remember Dawn's so if they got her done, they would have done me, right?"

"I think we'll take that as a yes. I assume you've never been confirmed."

"As far as I'm aware I didn't even have a provisional booking," Buffy shrugged and raised her eyebrows as if begging someone to laugh.

A loud shrill ring shattered the awkward silence, only to stop and then start again immediately. Spike rose from his chair and headed toward the door. "Better go let in your sister before she gets impatient," he said in a sarcastic tone, as the teen momentarily rested her finger before pressing her full weight on the buzzer once more.

The minister turned to Buffy and asked in a soft voice, "Buffy. Do you know what confirmation is? In the religious sense?"

"Ehm, no, not really," Buffy admitted. "Mom and dad were never really big on organised religion."

Dawn came in the room dropping her back pack. 

"Ian Hamilton. Dawn Summers. Buffy's younger sister and ward. Ian is the vicar at the church where they had that problem with vampires that time," Spike introduced them.

"The one with the big long porch thing out front? Cool. Is that where you two are getting married?"

"That would be up to the nice man, sweetie," Spike managed in only a slightly sarcastic tone of voice.

"Is it okay if I have some of this food. I'm starving and you don't look like you've touched anything." Dawn's stomach rumbled as if to prove the point.

"Help yourself, Niblet. You'll get a soda or some milk in the fridge."

The minister cleared his throat once more. "The way I see things at the moment, there's one thing that would prevent me from being able to perform your wedding ceremony."

"And that would be?" Spike asked.

"Buffy would have to be confirmed." The minister turned to face the slayer. "It's quite simple really. When you were christened your parents and godparents made promises on your behalf to ensure that you were brought up according to God's teachings. On reaching maturity, or in some cases on finding Christianity, it's normal to confirm your own commitment to this way of life. Normally, I run study groups once or twice a year and we'd do this over three to four months with a group of anywhere between six and ten people in the group. Since you were wanting to get married in the next two or three months I could arrange special tuition. I dare say, in a smaller group, we may be able to move through the material faster.

Perhaps your sister could join you. I tend to hold the group studies at the manse and since I live alone, I think propriety would be better served if it wasn't a one-on-one situation."

Spike bit his lip to prevent the snicker from leaving his mouth. Buffy's face was priceless, but the spray of sandwich crumbs from Dawn's mouth when she found herself roped in, was even better. 

"Vuffy?" Dawn asked, her eyes round and her mouth still half-full.

"Dawn. I think at the end of the day it has to be your choice whether you become a member of the church or not, right? I mean, that's the point, isn't it, that we learn enough to make up our own minds …right?" The minister nodded and Buffy continued. "But I think you should go to the classes with me." 

Dawn looked backwards and forwards between the blonde pair but she could tell from their expressions that arguing wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"In that case, if you two ladies can set aside two hours a week, I think we can look at wedding dates any time beyond the next couple of months," the minister said. "I think it's safe to say that you won't clash with any other bookings since you'll need an evening service."

"So, pet, did you want to be a July bride?" Spike asked.

Buffy pulled out a diary from her purse and checked the dates. "How about the twentieth?"

The minister and Spike both nodded. "Eight thirty?" suggested the clergyman.

Again Spike shrugged. That close to the middle of summer it would be light well into the evening, but eight-thirty was probably as late as they could let things go and still finish in time to have a reception.

"Okay, July the twentieth, eight thirty p.m." Buffy marked it in her diary.

The minister spoke up again. "I will need to speak to you both before the wedding to make sure you understand the commitment that you are going to be making, but that can wait till after Buffy's confirmation. One hurdle at a time. At the minute I have Mondays and Thursdays free. We can either do one two-hour session every week or two one-hour sessions. Which would you ladies prefer?"

"One two-hour session," the girls chorused. "D'you think we can do it early so it doesn't interfere with patrol?" Buffy added.

In the end it was agreed that Buffy would meet Dawn straight from school every Monday and they would go together to the minister's house, and he left without having either a drink or anything to eat. As soon as he was gone Buffy could be heard ranting and bemoaning her fate.

"And what do you think's so funny?" Buffy looked daggers at the smirking vampire.

"You. You wanted the church wedding. You thought you could just say, "hey, you've got a pretty building." And the vicar would say "hey, since you think so, I'm not bothered that you've only been inside a church twice in the last six years or that you know nothing about the faith you want to be married in. Just so long as you look pretty in your dress, I'll marry you any time you want."

"Well, yeah. I kinda thought rescuing his parishioners from a gang of vampires might cut me some slack. Isn't getting married meant to be good? If I'da known there was going to be study, you might have been on your own, blondie. I got into heaven without having to be married or having to know any bible stuff."

"Last time, you died saving the world, making the ultimate sacrifice. What if next time you die it's 'cause you stepped off the kerb in front of a drunk driver? Doesn't exactly buy you the same leeway."

"Whatever," Buffy grumped.

Dawn decided this was the point to make her irritation known. "Hey, I don't know what you're complaining about. I get all the bible study and I don't get to marry the totally besotted, drop-dead gorgeous guy at the end of it, either. Just because you didn't want to go alone. But I have got a drop-dead gorgeous date for the prom."

****

To be continued in chapter 5.03


	31. The Things We Do For Love Ch 3

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read. And as of late, you can find all mine at www.he-s-no-angel.net.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Spike and Buffy survived tea with the vicar (or whatever the appropriate American term would be) if only just. Dawn has just broke the news that she's got a date for the junior prom.

****

SECTION 5 – THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

__

A compromise would surely help the situation

Agree to disagree, but disagree to part

Well after all it's just a compromise

For the things we do for love

(10CC, Album Deceptive Blends)

****

CHAPTER 5.03

Her sister and her future brother-in-law's heads spun in her direction. Spike started repeating a little mantra inside his head, '_Not her father. No right to interfere. Not her father. No right to interfere. Not her father…_'

Buffy began the interrogation. "Not yet, you haven't. If you want this guy to take you to the prom then we have to meet him first, and I don't mean for five minutes before he drives you away in his car on the night.

What's his name? How old is he? And how do you know him?"

"His name is Brandon Michaels. His dad's the new English teacher and he just transferred from San Diego. He's in my year and he sat next to me in Art. And he's a hottie. And he gave me a ride over here tonight," Dawn supplied.

"Okay. You can ask him over for dinner, Tuesday night. If he's human and he's not an asshole you can go with him," Buffy conceded.

"Well, he might be at the Bronze tonight."

"In that case you'll be able to introduce us. After which you can sit with him. You can dance with him. At the end of the night if you haven't blown it, you can kiss him goodnight, but we will be seeing you and Janice safely back to her mother's. You will at no point leave the building and we'll be keeping an eye on you and if you do anything that isn't appropriate for a first date you will be home so fast you won't believe it.

Now go through to the bedroom and get changed. I brought some sweats and stuff for you. We're going to make a start on that training you were wanting."

"Really?" Dawn squeaked.

"Really. We're going over to the Magic Box. We've got a good few hours before our dinner reservation."

Fifteen minutes later the threesome headed out, taking the old DeSoto to the Magic Box. Spike was once again enveloped in the oversized sweatshirt and this time he simply parked the car at the front door, the three of them, walking in as a group. Spike checked round the room for customers, but found the place empty.

"Hey, kitten, got any spells we can use to keep a teenage boy from thinking about sex?" Though Spike was speaking to Anya, his intent was more to tease Dawn.

"If we had, don't you think we'd have used it on you." Xander offered, still making the most of his last day off work.

"Very witty. Anya, pet, come show me how these thingies over in the corner work." The vampire took the former vengeance demon by the elbow and escorted her over to the far corner of the shop.

"So what did you really want to not talk about in front of Xander? Because I think it would take a lot more than a fertility symbol or two for you to get Buffy pregnant, and from what I've heard Buffy has no complaints about your performance as regards any other aspect."

"What're you doing July twentieth, pet?"

"As far as I know we don't have any plans."

"I was wondering, pet. Would you be an usher at our wedding?"

"But isn't that normally a man?"

"Yeah, well I happen to like you and Glinda better than any men I—"

The rest of what Spike had to say was lost below Xander's exclamation, which caused the two former black-hats to look over at the counter, where Buffy was trying to calm him down slightly.

"Ringbearer! Do I look like a hobbit or something?"

The ex-evil duo looked at Anya's husband protesting. "Buff tried to get me to ask him, but I told her if she was getting Dawn I wanted both my other favourite Scoobies."

"Well, in that case, how can I refuse."

Spike picked her up by the waist and twirled her round, taking care to ensure no merchandise was broken. "Thanks, pet," he said gently before putting her down on her feet again. "Why don't you give us a couple of those symbols anyway. It's not like they can do any harm, is it?"

Anya picked up a couple of the small ornaments from the shelf and the two made their way back to the counter, where Anya discreetly wrapped up the overly endowed and very erect male figure and the heavily pregnant female figure before Dawn could look at them too closely.

As they were crossing the room, Buffy called across, "I take it from the twirly thing that you got a yes." 

Spike nodded. "Take it your best friend isn't so keen to share your special day with you?"

Buffy turned her pouty lip on Xander. "You would think I asked him to wear a dress or carry a bouquet or something, instead of wearing a tux and carrying a cushion."

"Couldn't I give you away or something in—"

"Giles," chorused Dawn, Buffy and Spike altogether.

Spike dropped a couple of bills on the counter, before pulling Dawn away toward the training room "Platelet, why don't you go warm up. Kitten, I don't suppose somewhere in that filofax of wedding stuff you had, you've got your measurements handy. I thought I might go and see old Mordecai, get him to work on the suits."

Anya's eyes widened. "Ooh. Very classy. It's in the office. Come on through. I hope he's not too heavily booked up…"

"Never is the prices he charges. And he'll like as not make sure he can do them rather than miss out on the money for making all five. 'Sides I used to put a lot of business his way when I was still with Dru. She always had to have her pretty dresses and corsets and everything.

"Which five?" Anya asked.

"Well, there's you and Tinkerbell are the ushers. Rupes is givin' Buffy away and then there's me and Clem's best man."

"So you're not getting Xander's there?"

"No he's Buffy's worry and I don't think he'd take it too well anyway. Mordecai may be the best tailor in Sunnydale, or California for that matter, but, no offence to you, all your husband would see was a dwarf, and you know how temperamental the short one can be. One Snowhite joke and we'd all be going to the church nude. No thank you."

"It's not like you can take Clem into Brooks Brothers," Anya agreed. She rifled through stacks of books and paperwork on the office shelves before pulling out the organiser she had used for the wedding, flicking through until she found the page with all her measurements on and pulling it out. "I should have Tara's here as well." She flipped over a couple of pages before pulling out a second page. "There you go."

"Thanks, pet. I'm glad I got you." He popped a kiss on her cheek and almost bounced out of the door and into the training room.

Buffy was teaching Dawn some defensive moves, while she played the role of attacker. Spike secured the sheets of paper into a zip pocket in the sweatshirt before taking off both it and the T-shirt underneath. He kicked off his boots and socks and lit up a cigarette while he was waiting for a break in the session between the two women. They were still busy with moves and countermoves when he finished, so he pulled out his phone.

He hit speed dial and waited. Soon the phone was picked up, the muted sound of a child's cries audible in the background.

"Hello. Who's there?" came a woman's voice.

"Lily? It's William."

"William, where you been? 'S been three weeks now since you been here? Rosa, she no know you no more when you come back." 

Spike held the phone away from his ear a little and rolled his eyes. "I've been busy. Haven't you heard the news?"

"I hear." Spike winced when he heard the spitting sound that followed. "I hear, but not from you. You too scared to ring Lily, tell her that you let this girl break your heart all over again. Lily tells you that this girl she no good for you. That she no treat you like a man. You her dog. You worse than dog. People they go to jail if they treat dog like she treat you."

"Lily…"

"No, she say heel, William, he say 'woof'. When you last play poker?"

"Ehm, la—"

"I bet you no even can tell me 'bout latest big scandal in Harmony?" Lily asked about events in Passions.

"Been tap—"

"See. You no live own life no more. You run round after human girl. You 'shamed to be seen with decent demons like us."

"Lil—"

"Or maybe you think your girlfriend, she try slay us. Maybe you think nasty little girl, she break Lily, like she break William."

Spike began to back out the training room door. "Lily!" Behind the counter, Anya's eyes widened in alarm. 

"What? You want to speak now. No just go 'woof'."

"Lily, I'll be over for dinner and I'll be bringing two guests, okay, love. Now, why don't you congratulate Anyanka on her wedding?"

"Anyanka, she get married? I thought the monkey boy, he run away?"

"Anyanka get married last Saturday. Here she is." Anya backed away as Spike approached with the phone, but finally when she was cornered snatched it, sticking her tongue out at him as she took it.

"Lily, how lovely to speak to you…" 

Spike sidled back through the training room door just in time to hear Anya feigning problems.

"What?! What was that?! I think Spike's battery must need charging."

"What was that all about?" two pairs of eyes looked at him coldly as he turned into the room.

"Em, we might have to leave here a bit earlier than I thought," Spike answered.

"Why?" Buffy asked.

"We're going for dinner at a friend's house before we go to the restaurant."

"Shouldn't that be instead of going to the restaurant," Dawn asked.

"You haven't tasted her cooking yet," said Spike.

At this Anya walked in the training room and slapped Spike on the back of the head, before handing him his phone, in two pieces.

"Your battery is broken. I suggest it stays that way at least until morning …and Xander says you should keep your semi-naked undead body in the training room where customers can't see it, though I must admit I think it could potentially attract customers rather than discourage them, so ignore what Xander says." She turned and walked back out into the main shop. 

"Buffy, why don't I take over with Bit for a while and you can pop out and get a good bottle of wine and some nice chocolates. We can go see my favourite florist on the way, so that'll be okay." Spike suggested.

"Eh, we're with the gift-getting, now?" Buffy asked.

"It's traditional …and I think Anya may just have put her in a bad mood. And _you_ really don't want to go there without a gift." Spike sounded suspiciously nervous.

"What do you mean? The way you said you there you made it sound weird. What's going on?" Dawn asked, picking up on the anxious vibe the vampire was giving off.

"Don't worry, Niblet. You, she loves, or she will. She's never heard anything but good about you, pet."

"And me? What have you told her about me?" Buffy countered.

"Haven't actually _told_ her anything, not since you came back. Not since there was anything to tell." Spike shuffled his feet and looked embarrassed. "See, _heard_ isn't technically the correct phrase when you're talkin' about Lily. She's an empath, a very talented empath, one I've been around at some of the worst points over the last year.

Clem got just enough to make him a good listener, maybe give him a bit of an edge at poker. His mum she's got it in spades."

"Oh …o-o-oh!" Buffy panicked as she realised the implications behind Spike's words.

"We're going to have dinner with Clem's mom. Cool." Dawn bounced on her toes. 

"But, you're happy now. She's going to know that you're happy now. Right?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"It would be nice to think so, but I suspect nervous is going to be a bit higher up there."

"Does she really hate me?" the slayer asked.

"When I got hurt, just before your birthday, Clem took me back there. She looked after me for a week, until I was back on my feet again. She'll be okay once she works out you love me and that you were hurting nearly as much as you hurt me. It'll be fine in the end, but I still recommend taking her a nice big bouquet, so scoot, while I attack your big sister."

"Hey, not my big sister," Buffy quibbled.

Spike just raised an eyebrow, "younger maybe, little…" he shook his head.

Buffy's mouth set in a line as she grabbed her purse and stomped out of the training room throwing dirty looks at her fiancé.

Dawn flinched visibly. "That'll probably keep her mad all the way to the liquor store and back," she observed.

"Then she won't have time to worry about meeting Lily, will she?" Spike said with a smirk. 

****

To be continued in chapter 5.04


	32. The Things We Do For Love Ch 4

****

True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer, without whom, no one other than me would be reading this. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, the site she shares with Isis and they're well worth a read. And as of late, you can find all mine at www.he-s-no-angel.net.

****

PREVIOUSLY: Anya's agreed to be an usher at the wedding. Xander was less sure when Buffy asked if he would act as Ringbearer. Buffy is anxious about the prospect of meeting Clem's mum, especially since she found out that she's empathic and she was responsible for helping Spike's recuperation after Buffy beat him up in Dead Things.

****

SECTION 5 – THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

__

A compromise would surely help the situation

Agree to disagree, but disagree to part

Well after all it's just a compromise

For the things we do for love

(10CC, Album Deceptive Blends)

****

CHAPTER 5.04

Spike decided that it was probably diplomatic to leave the bulk of the hands-on training to Buffy or at the very least to make sure she was around when he was doing it. Also, there was the distinct possibility that even a feigned attack could leave him with a headache. With this in mind he decided to walk Dawn through a simple kata or two. He went through the moves alongside her several times before standing back to comment and gently correct her stance and execution.

"I don't get this," Dawn commented as she practised.

"Don't get what, love."

"_This._ This stuff you're teaching me. This is all structured and stuff, but it's not how you fight and it's not how Buffy fights either."

"No, it's not how I generally fight. Most of the time I get away with working on instinct and a lot of what I do comes from fightin' in the gutters on a Saturday night, but it's never a waste to learn proper techniques. If you practice enough even in the middle of an adrenaline rush, you'll still punch so that you don't sprain your wrist, or maintain your balance without thinking about it. You'll eventually learn to adapt bits of everything so that you have your own style that you're comfortable with, but first you have to practice till the moves come naturally."

By the time Buffy came back to the shop, Spike had given Dawn a break on the katas and had her practising kicks on the punch-bag instead, which was probably as much a reflection on his attention span as anything else. The elder Summers still looked decidedly unhappy as she dropped her shopping bags on the floor, so Spike just dropped back deeper into the room until he stood on the training mats near the room's centre. He raised his hands, palms toward him and flexed his fingers a couple of times in an invitation that probably predated the spoken word.

Buffy for her part stretched her neck, tilting her head to either side until bones popped into place with a cracking noise, and followed him onto the mats. Dawn worked her way around the punch-bag until she had a view of the sparring area, keeping the rhythm of her kicks going the whole time so as not to alert either of the participants to her interest.

The couple circled around each other looking for an opening to attack. Yet, each knew the other so well, feints were ignored and attacks were blocked. That is, until Spike set up a series of kicks, punches and counter-kicks so fast that Buffy seemed to have a problem meeting them. The moves culminated with a roundhouse kick to the side and back of her head, which she failed to block. It was only when the kick struck with less than the anticipated force that Buffy realised her problem and adjusted for it. 

This was the first time she had officially sparred with the vampire. Indoors, sacrificing the protection and additional force to his kicks, he had removed the heavy boots he customarily wore. Probably, he had taken them off so that if he did land a solid kick there was less chance of doing any damage, but in doing so he had upped the pace of his attack beyond his normal and taken her by surprise. It wouldn't happen twice. 

The fight ebbed and flowed, with first one attacking then the other. Often the pair seemed like mirror reflections of each other, with no discernible delay between the movements of the arm that attacked and the one moved to stop it hitting. At other times, the duo moved like the gear wheels in a machine, one leaping upward at the exact instant that the other's leg swept through the air where they had once been or bodies bending aside just long enough and far enough to evade attack. Occasionally, one would manage to take the other to the ground, but unless they were pinned, recovery was almost instantaneous, with the downed party either rolling or flipping to their feet. Even when one did appear to pin the other to the ground positions would be reversed so rapidly Dawn found it difficult to keep track.

The first sign that Dawn noticed was how the pair were panting, gasping for breath almost in synch, not so out of place for Buffy, even if she had fought far longer fights without obvious ill-effect, but from Spike who didn't need to breathe? Then, she became aware of the heated glances passing back and forth, her sister's eyes reduced to emerald rings around obsidian pools, Spike's eyes so dark she couldn't even tell any longer that they were blue. The tip of the vampire's tongue gliding over his upper teeth in a predatory and obscene way, led her to check down below the waist for the final all too obvious sign that at least one half of the pair was enjoying their encounter on more than one level.

'_TMI_,' thought Dawn as she backed out of the room. '_Altogether TMI. But then when you saw them move together, to begin with, you thought it was beautiful. They were beautiful. So can you blame them if he thinks… and she thinks… and their bodies… react. Yeuch! So not going there understandable or not_.'

"So, Xander, are you secure enough in your masculinity to join me as one of Buffy's attendants or are you going to let her down?" Dawn decided she couldn't resist some Xander baiting.

"I'm still mulling it over. And what's with you and your undead hero laying on the guilt trips?" the male Scooby responded.

"We're just trying to get you to say yes, so Buffy can be all happy and excited. I don't know what you're stalling for unless you're aiming to make her beg, and if that's what you want… some best friend."

"But Dawn, it's not exactly a manly job, is it? Why couldn't Anya have been a bridesmaid and then I could be an usher."

"No, sweetie," Anya interrupted. "The ushers thing works because Tara and I are both doing it. It wouldn't be the same effect with one man and one woman."

Dawn looked Xander straight in the eye and gave it her best shot. "Xander Harris, if you think about this from anyone else's view-point but your own for five minutes you will see that this is the only way. Buffy wants you in the wedding party. All the other Scoobies will be. If you don't do it you'll be the only one in the congregation.

If you were asked to be one of the ushers, that would mean that you and Spike would be together for hours, possibly alone. You would be in a foul mood. Spike would be even worse. If one of you didn't end up with a black eye or something it would be a miracle. Do you want to ruin Buffy's perfect day?"

"Of course not."

"Then tell her you'll do it, already."

Xander gave an exaggerated sigh and pushed himself up off his stool behind the counter, heading toward the training room.

Dawn's voice squeaked she panicked so much. "Just not right this minute. When they're finished. I mean when they come out. No need to interrupt."

"No need to interrupt what exactly?" Xander asked his tone indicating a mixture of suspicion and disgust.

"Sparring. Ehm… they… were.. sparring, when I left them."

"What's your problem, Xander?" Anya asked in a voice he recognised as being far too reasonable.

"Buffy and Spike, in the training room."

"Yes, Xander. They're in the training room. Not in the shop where the customers are and don't tell me it's because the training room's a public place or because we're out here. You talked me into doing it in the basement with that bunny doll and all the Scoobies sitting around upstairs, except Dawn that is, because she was busy being held hostage."

"But it's Spi-i-ike and Bu-uffeee," he whined.

"Just get over it, Xander. Buffy isn't the sweet sixteen you had a crush on any more. She's a supernaturally enhanced woman in her prime with desires that will only ever truly be satisfied by an equally supernaturally enhanced man. She has chosen Spike as her life-partner. You, I thought, chose me to be yours. That means you don't get a say in what the two of them do. Buffy doesn't get a say in what we do. 

They don't appreciate your unhealthy fascination in their affairs and quite frankly I'm more than a little sick of it myself. Even if Spike and I had never existed, even if she was attracted to you, you and she could never have what they have. 

You don't even want her. You never really wanted her. You only ever wanted your idealised image of her and when she let you down by not being that person you passed judgement on her. 

You lied to her about Angel. You gave her a hard time about wanting to be with him, even when they were just friends. She told everyone she was in trouble when Giles said he was leaving. You didn't know how to help so you ignored it and hoped she'd just miraculously get better on her own. You told yourself she was fine and left her to deal with slaying and debts and looking after Dawn and you expected her to be able to help Willow through losing Tara and the magic thing when she wasn't even keeping her own head above water. And when someone does try to help her you give both of them a hard time. If you had really been her friend she would have been able to tell you about her and Spike. If you _are_ her friend you'll let her find whatever happiness she can, however she wants to.

And if you meant those vows you said a week ago then it's about time you made me feel like I'm the most important woman in your life, not her and not Willow."

"Ahn, honey. It is you that I love. It's just I can't help thinking my best friend is about to make a huge mistake."

Anya's expression hardened. "A huge mistake like marrying a demon, you mean?"

"Yeah— No. It's Spike. Spike who's kidnapped us and tried to kill us and sold us out to Adam… You know I love you. I don't hate Spike because he's a demon. I hate Spike because of who he is."

"Xander. You say you hate Spike because he tried to kill you. Big deal. He tried. I did it. My vengeance spell saw you and Willow vamped and dusted, Buffy dead, Oz, Cordelia pretty much everyone you know except Giles, all dead. Sunnydale was a ghost town. The master was in charge of everything, and I did it. The only difference is that Giles reversed time when he smashed the pendant, so if you hate Spike for what he's done years ago then don't try telling me you love me because you're lying to yourself about one or the other."

"Ahn, it's different."

"How's it different? Different because I give you orgasms and Spike doesn't? You can make an exception, but Buffy isn't allowed. Spike may have the attitude, but I have him beat ten times over when it comes to evil-doing. In fact, I'm sure he said he 'didn't much care for the pre-show' so chances are, even the people he killed had it far easier than mine.

It's like when Buffy found Warren's bot everybody sort of felt sorry for him. He didn't think anyone could really love him so he made himself someone who did. And you all said how sad it must be to be this guy with no hope of being loved.

But did Spike get any sympathy when he thought Buffy would never love him? What he did was exactly the same as what Warren did. No one gave him any sympathy. No one said gee, imagine feeling so much for someone and knowing they'll never love you back. No, it was just Spike's a pervert. He's sick. He's disgusting.

And the only difference is Warren's human and Spike's not. Same way as you ignore all the good stuff he's done, and you didn't ask him to help with the resurrection. You knew Buffy's death tore him up more than anyone except maybe Dawn. You knew he helped Dawn with the spell to bring back Joyce but you didn't include him and you didn't even see fit to tell him, all because his heart doesn't happen to beat.

I saw what you were like vamped. You don't hate Spike because of anything he's done. You're jealous that you can't be him."

There wasn't much Xander could say to that. Lately it just seemed like everyone was throwing emotional bricks his way, and he got hit in the head every time.

Dawn decided to pass on some advice. "Xander, when I found out I was the key, the only person who helped me make any sense out of it was Spike. He told me that where you start out in life isn't important. All that matters is where you end up. I started out as the key but it doesn't matter because I ended up human. He started out human and ended up a vampire. It's who we are at the end that counts.

And the Spike we first met was different from the Spike who got up out of that wheelchair after however many months. He was different again when Drusilla left him. He was different after he got the chip and again after he realised he was in love with Buffy. And then there was the whole big change where he had to adjust because he hadn't dealt socially with humans for over a century and the only romantic experience he had was his time with Drusilla. It doesn't mean his feelings were less real, just that he made some terrible mistakes trying to express them. 

Now, he's the guy my sister loves. He's my friend, almost brother. He's Anya's friend.

He's brave. He's intelligent. He's witty. He's fun to be around. He makes me feel safe and wanted and loved. He's a butt-hole too sometimes, but he's our butt-hole. 

And that's all that matters. Not how he started out, not all the changes that helped him get to where he is, but who he is now. You just have to let yourself see that and stop letting all your old grudges prevent you from seeing what's right in front of your nose."

"You really love him, don't you?" Xander's voice conveyed a world of amazement.

"Well, duh. Just for example, the guy let that bitch cut him up and use him for a punch-bag and still wouldn't tell her who I was. How could I not?" Dawn asked. "Of course, if you tell him I said that, I'll deny it.

But Xander, I'm not just talking about Spike. People are a bit like plants. They have to grow or they die. You've been putting way too much energy into staying in one place. If you keep holding on to the past… If you keep bottling up intolerance and resentment and hatred… eventually it'll overshadow everything else that you are... And you'll lose the people you love." The teenager looked over at Anya and then briefly at the training room door.

"Pet, I don't think your little sister trusts our self-control."

"What?" Buffy looked around for her sister, leaving herself apparently wide open to attack.

Spike passed up the opportunity, choosing instead to slide his arms around her waist from behind and rest his cheek against her hair. "She just beat a retreat into the main shop."

"You think she thinks…?" the slayer asked.

"I think she thinks exactly what would have already been happening by now if she weren't here is about to happen."

"And she just …left."

"Mm-hm, no "Ew", no "Euch", no "Gross", just a quiet retreat… Did I ever tell you how much I love your sister?" Spike's voice wasn't teasing or playful, just full of warmth.

Buffy tipped her head back against Spike's shoulder and looked up into his eyes as she answered equally seriously. "I think you always just showed me."

She reached up a hand to cup his cheek, her other coming to rest over where his were clasped.

Spike tried to steer the topic away from raging hormones. "How'd your wrist hold up?"

"Fine. I taped it while you were talking to Anya."

Spike gently drew her hand away from his face and pushed back the sleeve of her top, so that he could remove the tape and unwind the bandage supporting her wrist. He took his time and when the last of the material was removed he brought her wrist to his mouth, brushing his lips over the already yellow-green bruise at her pulse-point.

"D'you feel up to patrol tonight, or should I do the rounds on my own?" he asked.

"It's good. I won't even notice it if I tape it up again and take a couple of aspirin."

"You feeling a bit less stressed out than when we started?"

"Less stressed, but every bit as tense …for all the best reasons," Buffy admitted. 

"_That_, I _might_ be able to help you with."

Buffy turned to face him, pressing her fingers against his brow. "Are you okay? Mmh, slightly over room temperature, I'm sure. Does that mean you've got a fever? Never heard you express any doubts about your prowess before. You must be ill."

"The only fever in my blood is you, Summers, you and you alone. As to my sexual prowess I think it's only fair to let you be the judge. In this instance though, with Li'l' Bit just the other side of the door, I thought we'd ruled out sex… as such."

"So where exactly was your deviant, little mind headed?"

"Just a bit of harmless necking, pet, maybe a bit of smutty talk, a bit of friction." The vampire pushed his thigh between hers and gripped her ass pulling her tight against his pelvic bone as he answered before letting her slip back down till her feet rested flat on the ground again.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sensation between her thighs and when she looked up at him, her eyes were bottomless black pools of desire. "Harmless meaning blood-free, hence the 'might'… 'cause we both know…"

"…that if I bleed you, I can make you come. That's right. But if I did, we wouldn't be leaving this room any time tonight and I wouldn't give a damn who was outside the door."

"But what do you get out of it, Will? Seems like all you get is more frustration." Her tongue flicked across her upper lip. "It wouldn't be fair."

"Since when has fair had anything to do with our sex-life, pet?"

"Since our sex-life became part of our relationship. So, if you're going to have to wait, then so am I. Now, let's get out of here before I jump your bones."

"I think you've got a bit to learn about offering incentives, love. And you don't want to go out there just yet. Harrises are in middle of another row."

"What's the what this time?" Buffy asked, watching the muscles of Spike's stomach ripple as he stretched his arms over his head to put on his T-shirt. 

"Us, or to be more precise the fact that Harris is more interested in trying to prove you're making a huge mistake than in paying attention to his bride."

Buffy rushed to the door pressing her ear against the wood, glancing over at Spike's expression of consternation when Anya said she had him beat ten times over on the evil front.

The bit about the 'bot went down even better. "Valid point, pet, but could you make me out to be any more of a useless wanker?" he muttered under his breath as he lit another cigarette, breathing in deeply before exhaling in a long steady plume. His face fell into his habitual smirk when Anya told her husband he was jealous and Buffy who was watching his reactions almost as much as she was listening to the argument, just rolled her eyes as his trademark expression fell into place.

"Y'know, slayer, it's not polite to eavesdrop on private conversations."

"Phft. I'm just saving Dawn from having to relay the details, and you're listening."

"I just happen to have particularly acute hearing. I can't help it. You're the one with her ear to the door."

"Shh. I want to hear what Dawn's saying," Buffy tried to quiet the vamp.

Spike turned away under the pretence of putting on his sweatshirt, zipping it up enough at the bottom to be sure it hid the bulge in the front of his jeans. He kept his back turned to Buffy as he fumbled with his socks and boots, not wanting her to see the effect of Dawn's words. He blinked frantically, trying to stop the tears from falling. His hands fumbled with laces he could barely even see until small hands brushed his aside and hazel eyes looked up from where she knelt at his feet. 

"Don't worry," she said softly as she swiftly tightened and knotted the laces on his boots. "She kinda catches us all like that at times, even the Big Bad …or do you have to give that title over to Anya now?"

Spike grinned and, of course, two tears finally took their chance and slid down the planes of his face. He opened his arms and she stood up again so he could hold her. "Dunno, love. Reckon we could arm-wrestle for it?"

His lips brushed against her hair. "You are both so beautiful, y' know. Like Joyce. You see the good in people, even people like me. I don't deserve either of you."

"Sure you do. Just wait till you have a week where both of us have PMS."

"Well, can't say it applies to the Li'l' Bit but I seem to recall certain advantages to being around you at that time of the month." He gave her a knowing leer and she tried hard not to laugh.

"Spike, you are so gross. You do realise most men are just freaked by that."

"Vampire, so sue me. I love how you taste three hundred and sixty five days a year and I don't recall you having any complaints."

"Yeah but now you've got a proper place, we've got to worry about getting stains on …I would say the sheets but in our case it's probably more appropriate to say the carpets."

"In that case, I'll just have to ravish you in the kitchen and the bathroom where there are all those nice wipe-clean surfaces."

Buffy didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. "You are incorrigible, and as long as you don't make those sort of comments in public, I have to admit I like it. Now, get out of here before you end up 'even more desperate for a shag' Giles. Which reminds me, none of them in there know about your new name, yet."

Spike picked up the carrier bags Buffy had brought in earlier and opened the training room door, stepping back to let her precede him through.

"Hey Xander. You know you asked the other day about what my married name was going to be. Were you really interested or just trying to stir things up?" Buffy quipped by way of introducing her topic of choice.

"Both," admitted the construction worker with a disarming grin.

"So if I told you Spike's ID is all getting sorted out and we know the name would you still be interested?"

"Doesn't matter if he is or not, your _sister_ wants to know, and I think since I have to go to bible study I have a right to know first," Dawn demanded.

"How about third?" Buffy asked.

Spike cleared his throat. "Em, Ripper," he reminded Buffy.

"How about fourth?" she amended. "Willow and Tara were home when I found out and Spike had already discussed it with Giles."

"You are so going to pay, but I guess I'll have to make do," conceded the teenager.

Buffy moved over and whispered in her sister's ear, just so that she could say she heard before Xander and Anya.

The youngster let out a high-pitched shriek of excitement, attracting the attention of all canines within a three-mile radius. She looked up at Spike. "Really?" she asked, and when the vampire nodded, she burbled on excitedly. "That is so cool. You are so sweet to think of something like that." She flung her arms round her sister and then dashed round the table to throw her arms around Spike's waist.

"Not sweet, pet. M'Bad," argued Spike, only to be met with the patented Summers eye roll.

Xander's patience couldn't hold out any longer. "So give, Buffy. What's got Summers Jnr. all excited?"

Anya rolled her eyes in the background, having obviously guessed, maybe Bit had been giving her lessons while she worked off her sticky finger debt.

"You are looking at the future Mrs William A. Giles."

"Oh my God," said Xander. "Giles wasn't training him to be a watcher. He's going to be Giles Jnr." Xander began to laugh, and then giggle uncontrollably.

"Does anybody with two brain cells to collide together know what Bibble-Boy is talking about or should we ring for the nice men in their white coats now?" asked Spike.

"I think so," said Buffy.

Spike pulled out his cell phone. "I suppose it would only be 911 if he were a danger to himself or others."

His fiancée slapped him on the arm. "No, I think I know what he's talking about. After we did the spell to invoke the essence of the first slayer, to defeat Adam…" She threw a sideways look at Spike. "…everybody that was part of the spell had all these weird dreams. I think Xander said in his you were all dressed in tweed and playing on a swing set with Giles and you said that Giles was going to train you to be a watcher.

But then in Giles' dream you were hiring yourself out as a tourist attraction, so I don't think it's anything other than a coincidence."

"Look, pet, amusing as it is to watch Harris go through his nervous breakdown, we're going to have to go now if we want to catch the florist's before they shut."

"Don't forget your purchases. Your change is in the bag," Anya called out, causing Spike to swerve toward the counter and pick up his Magic Box carrier bag.

"Bye, kitten. I'd check the refunds policy on that marriage license. See if it's not too late to take him back and get one that isn't broken." This earned him another slap on the arm, but since it came with a Buffy smile, he didn't care a bit.

The group had just left when Xander stopped giggling. "Hey, how come Dead Boy Jnr. gets to be Giles Jnr.? I wanted Giles to be _my_ dad."

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To be continued in chapter 6.01


	33. Bad Moon Rising Ch 1

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, and all mine including the upcoming sequel to this (which will not be available at ff.net) at www.he-s-no-angel.net or 

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PREVIOUSLY: Buffy Spike and Dawn have just left the Magic Box. They're about to make a stop at the florists to pick up a nice big bouquet so that Buffy can try to get Clem's mum, Lily, to speak to her, even though Lily doesn't approve of Spike's relationship with Buffy. It's all to do with her being the one who got to look after Spike when Clem dragged him back there after the alley scene in Dead Things and the fact that she's an empath demon so she's very much aware of how Buffy's made him feel. Yep, in my little universe Clem was with Spike at the party because Lily wouldn't let him go on his own, 'cause he was still too purple. Anyway enough of ne wittering on…. 

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SECTION 6 – BAD MOON RISING

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Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight

Well, it's bound to take your life

There's a bad moon on the rise

(Credence Clearwater Revival [written by John Fogerty], 1969)

CHAPTER 6.01 

"Hey, we're right by the gallery." 

Spike pulled the car to a halt in front of a florist's shop less than fifty yards from where Buffy's mother had worked.

"Come on, you two, there's someone I want you to meet." Parked as he was, on the shady side of the street, Spike shucked off the sweatshirt and pulled his duster from the back seat of the car, putting it on as he walked over to the entrance. Pulling the door open, he hustled the two girls in, following behind them.

"You didn't tell me she knew mom," Buffy said, her tone slightly sad.

"Sort of expected you to work that out seein' as how the shop was so close to the gallery and your mom gave a bouquet or something to every artist they had an exhibition for. Sorry, pet. I should have warned you. What about you, Bit? You were pretty quiet back there."

"I'm good, just so long as I get first dibs on the shower and Buffy helps me with my make-up." Dawn replied.

"Helps you with your make-up, or helps you with her make-up?" asked the blonde in a sceptical tone of voice.

"Hey, I didn't know when I packed that I'd be sorta seeing someone tonight. Pleease. And my hair. It'll buy you one week of bible study."

"Okay. Okay. When you put it like that, I guess I'm cornered. But if I've got this right then Spike owes us both."

"I don't owe you anything for no bible study, not when you're the one who wanted the church do. You owe me for tea with the vicar and forthcoming chats about the sanctity of marriage. I thought you realised I was a bottle blond."

"Hey," Buffy protested on behalf of natural blondes everywhere.

"Yeah, right, love. Like your hair just naturally changed from the colour it was when we first got engaged to the colour it is now. And you've been leaving it long enough between treatments lately for the roots to show now and again. Not to mention the fact I can smell the peroxide on you for about half a week after you get it done, even over the smell of mine."

"Busted," came the voice from the back seat of the car.

Buffy shrugged. "Riley believed it was natural."

'Well,' thought Spike, 'the only certainty there, is that one of the two of them's deluded.'

"Can't we just agree not to mention your ex until he's back in town and we can do something about him?" he asked.

"Whatya goin' to do with Riley? I thought he was okay now, right?" Dawn asked.

"Probably not." Buffy sighed. "We think his story might have been a cover so that him and Sam could get the eggs." 

"But Spike had the eggs, didn't you?" Dawn sounded confused.

"Long story. Buffy can fill you in while she does your hair," Spike answered. "Boils down to Captain America's an arse-hole." 

The car pulled up at the front of Spike's building again and Spike suggested that Buffy give her keys to Dawn so that she could get a head start on her shower, while the couple took their time.

"Pet, it occurs to me that if Dawn didn't know about Cardboard, then I doubt we told the watcher either." Spike shrugged his way out of the duster, donning the sweatshirt for his walk into the building. "Thing is, all we have is conjecture, basically, but if we're right, Giles should know. The problem with that is, if we're right, depending whether he's acting independently or for the government, there's a fair to middling chance they could be keeping tabs on all of us somehow. 'Course I should have thought of it before, but, hey, if Warren and his dwarves could manage it… how much easier would it be for Golden Boy? And Giles' phone… I mean, anything big, you tell Giles, right?

But then there's also the possibility we're way off base, and the whole thing is a pile of bollocks, which, would, of course, make me a paranoid old git," Spike admitted ruefully.

"Only, when we're talking about whatever quasi-Initiative group that Riley's with, can we afford not to be?"

"Love, would you say lover boy was surprised when he found you in my crypt?" The vampire sounded contemplative.

Buffy cast her mind back. "No, I don't think he was. I don't think he was at all… And he knew I was at DMP. How'd he know I was working there? And my hair, he said he loved my hair, but I could have had it cut like that for more than a year for all he should have known, and it was in a ponytail. I mean how much can you tell about someone's hair when it's in a ponytail. I wouldn't say I liked someone's haircut without seeing it loose, never mind say I luvved it." Buffy twisted up her mouth as she said the last two words, the expression very reminiscent of her liquor face, only, this time Spike didn't find it cute that something left a bad taste in her mouth. "It's almost like he knew why I cut it. Like he was working on scoring points with me against you. Spike, I think you can officially colour me freaked."

"Don't blame you, pet. Not feelin' right peaceful at the minute, m'self. Best go catch up with little sis, and for now, I think we've got to think very carefully about what we say and where we say it. I'm kinda wonderin' how far vengeance demons can teleport and whether Anya could do it." Spike opened his door and Buffy took this as her cue to get out too, waiting while the vampire locked up before walking into the building arm in arm. 

Buffy quickly came to a decision. "I think we need to get everybody together some place they just can't have staked out. We need to discuss this."

"I'll see if the restaurant can change the booking to a table for seven. You ring the others say it's so you can sort out getting dresses and stuff and it's a thank you, but don't say where we're going just say I'll pick up the witches and Harris can follow in their car. That way they should all get a nice surprise." The pair had just got to the top of the first flight of stairs when Spike stopped dead. "Buffy, I've just remembered I've got a problem with the battery on my phone. I better go find a call box. Don't do anything till I get back." He pushed his duster and keys into her hands and headed back out.

More than half convinced he was being paranoid, Spike phoned up an entirely different restaurant, and booked a table for eight. He let the booking at the more popular restaurant he'd made under the name Summers stand. The new booking was made under the name of Alex Ferguson, but then he was fairly certain in Giles' absence no one on this side of the Atlantic was going to recognise it as the name of Manchester United's manager. Not in time to do anything about it, anyway. Then, just to confuse matters he made a few more phone calls, one to an import/export firm down by the docks, another five to different restaurants around the town, making reservations for parties of anywhere between six and ten people, and six to eateries that were already fully booked. 

He followed this up with a call to the LA field office of the FBI, requesting to be transferred to an agent mentioned in some recent press coverage who, as it turned out, was very polite to the student who wanted to include her case as part of his thesis. She did point out that information in the case was still restricted so she couldn't help. Spike didn't care about anything except the fact the call was long enough to worry Finn if he ever found out. Then, putting as much change in as he could he dialled a gay chat-line and left the receiver off the hook as he walked away. Let the bastards trace the calls from that phone box now, for all the good it would do them.

By the time Spike made it back to the flat, both the girls had finished in the shower and dried their hair. Buffy had thought to bring a robe, the ivory satin making her tan look darker than it normally did. Dawn was still swathed in one of his white bath sheets. The first stage of the makeover was obviously completed because her hair billowed around her head in gentle waves instead of its normal straight lines. Buffy was evidently in the process of sorting through her make-up bag to see which of her cosmetics would best suit Dawn's paler colouring, judging by the array that was spread around her on the bed. 

Spike actually looked weary when he made his way through to where the women were and Buffy rose to meet him just inside the doorway, her hands resting against his chest as she stood on tiptoe for a kiss. When she dropped back onto the flat of her feet, he smiled down but for once it didn't seem to reach his eyes. 

He pushed a hand through his still partially gelled hair before he spoke. "Just going to get my turn in the shower, pet. Everything's sorted, if you want to ring your mates. If you tell them we'll meet up quarter to eight, eight o'clock-ish, we hopefully won't be running out on Lily as soon as we get there, but we'll have to get a move on." He brushed his lips against Buffy's cheek and gave Dawn a smile that was a poor imitation of the norm and turned toward the bathroom. Buffy hesitated as to whether she should follow him and regretted it when she heard the bolt snap into place, a first as far as she was aware. She waited until she heard the sound of the water running and the subtle change that indicated he had stepped under it, before she returned to choosing make-up for her sister.

Spike stood under the stream of water, oblivious to the pink tinge his skin was taking on. His arms were braced against the wall, holding him upright as slow tears fell from his eyes indiscernible from the steaming spray. Helplessness, frustration and loss warred within him as he faced the enormity of where his thoughts had led him.

If the government had been observing the Scoobies for any length of time, it was only realistic to assume they knew Dawn was the Key. As such, she was a potential threat, one they had to either control or eliminate. Either way there was a very good chance he was going to lose both the women he loved, and as long as he had the chip he was worthless in this fight.

Falling in love with the slayer had always been like living on borrowed time. He knew, in his bones, that sooner rather than later, he would see her returned to her grave. He had thought when that day came, Dawn and he would stand side by side in their grief. Now, it seemed far more likely that he would mourn both of them together. He couldn't protect them and condemned by his word to Buffy, he couldn't even end his existence.

They might make their move tonight or they might just watch and wait for years. If they realised the Scoobies knew they were being watched, that could even be the trigger that would cause them to act. 

Buffy might come to this conclusion herself in time, but there was no way he was going to do anything to bring it to her attention. If he did, then the fear would just eat away at her insides while she waited and waited, just like it was doing to him. 

He was going to fail them, again.

It didn't take Buffy long to do Dawn's make up. Her skin was flawless and using a base would only dull its healthy glow. All that was really needed was a light dusting of eyeshadow and some pale lip-gloss. Dawn had insisted on waiting for Spike to come out the shower to do her mascara after she accused Buffy of trying to poke her eye out.

This left the older girl free to do her own five-minute make-up job and get dressed. As a concession to the fact she couldn't get too dressed up, she was once again wearing Spike's favourite skirt. Her white strappy top had concealed under-wiring, so she didn't need a bra and she had decided, in the interest of preserving the underwear that remained to her, that she would forego panties tonight. Based on Spike's reaction the last time she wore that skirt, she anticipated some fairly urgent action tonight, probably the first time they were alone for five minutes out of range of teenage ears and eyes. 

She still had phone calls to make, but she'd hoped that Spike would have made it out of the shower by now. After his subdued entrance and the way he shut her out of the bathroom for the first time, she hadn't really expected it, but she had hoped. She paused to listen to the unvarying susurration of the falling water before knocking gently on the door.

"Spike," she fumbled searching her mind for some endearment that wouldn't sound false, something she'd maybe called him at least once. She failed. She'd never once called him love, or honey, or darling. It was like some part of her refused to be that open in her affections, even now, when she knew he needed it, and then it clicked. "Will, are you okay in there? Can I come in?"

Suddenly the sound of the running water changed. He was moving again under the stream.

"Just a second, I'll get the door." Spike automatically swiped at his cheeks as if to wipe away the tears, before he reached over, to undo the bolt. "It's open."

Buffy didn't know any other way to do this so she used the sledgehammer method. "What's up? You weren't happy when you left, but even I can tell you were less happy when you got back."

He couldn't lie to her. It never worked. Maybe with enough time to think it through, he could figure a way to let her know part of it, without bringing up the question of the Key. "It's complicated, pet, and we haven't got time, right now, to start going into detail." As he spoke he went through the motions of shampooing his hair.

"Okay, you're off the hook, but only till everyone goes their separate ways tonight. 

I've still got to ring everybody and Dawn wants you to do her mascara, but other than that we're ready to go. She says, at least you won't try to poke her eye out. Another of your hidden talents?"

Spike shrugged, slathering a large blob of conditioner over his otherwise badly treated hair, leaving it on while he quickly soaped the rest of his body. "You learn a lot when you spend a century lookin' after a woman who can't look after herself.

Look, I guess I kinda spaced out for a bit. If you fetch me a clean shirt, some jeans, some socks 'n' me good boots I should be done by the time you look them out. Only thing is, you might have a problem finding a shirt that still has all its buttons."

Normally, watching him do anything shirtless, let alone naked had her yearning to jump his bones. She was just realising that, even more than the perfect body, what really pressed her buttons was the attitude. He was irresistible, because he believed he was and especially because he made her feel like she was too. 

He knew that, unlike ninety nine percent of the population, he looked better naked than clothed and he flaunted it, for those he wanted that type of attention from. For now the attitude seemed to have taken a vacation. In fact, at last, Buffy could honestly say she knew what Spike's penis looked like when it was totally flaccid. 

She didn't even think he'd noticed the skirt. It sounded really selfish, but the fact that something had knocked him so far off kilter that she was no longer foremost in his thoughts, made her more than a little worried. It also made her realise how much she took his feelings for granted. So she simply told him, "sure," and resolved that whatever it was, they would find time to talk it through before the night was over.

She went through to the bedroom quickly finding the items of clothing he'd requested, although as he'd warned when she looked through the shirts hanging up in the wardrobe, all her favourite ones were missing several buttons. He had none in either blue or black left, or at least not there and clean. She made do with one of his red ones, realising she couldn't remember him wearing any of them since that day he'd sung for her. Changing her mind about letting him tell her in his own time she delegated the job of phoning the Scoobies to Dawn, also telling her if she was a long time with Spike to find Spike's cell-phone and ring this Lily person to apologise for being late. She headed back to the bathroom with her booty piled in her arms.

Her teeth made indents in her lower lip as she slipped through the bathroom door to find him waiting for her. His hair was still damp, but had obviously been gelled and combed back, his torso and legs were still dotted with beads of moisture and a towel hung round his waist. He was giving his teeth another quick brush as part of his pre-going out routine. Even so, he managed to say something that approximated to, "thanks, pet," despite a mouthful of toothbrush and foam. She sat down with her back to the door and her feet braced against the side of the tub, watching as he finished up and rinsed, not bothering with his demon fangs this time.

"Will, I do sort of want to let you tell me what's bothering you in your own time. Only, part of me thinks that wouldn't be the best idea in the world, because this is the closest I've ever seen you to brooding like the Poof, as you would say," she started tremulously, even her attempt at goading him into a response uttered with anything but confidence.

"Thanks, pet." He gave her a sad half-smile. "I didn't realise that there was a way I could feel worse about things without someone dyin'."

"Now there's no way you get out of this bathroom without telling me what's got feeling you like that."

"'S nothing, slayer. Just me feelin' like a wanker 'cause when the shit hits the fan there'll be bugger all that I can do to help. Worse than nothin. I'll be a bloody liability, not even able to look after m'self."

She patted the floor next to her, waiting for him to take a seat before she rebutted his argument. "Spike, I don't think you're a liability." She shifted so they sat hip to hip, intertwining the finger of her hand with his. "You've helped out before when we've had to deal with humans. If it wasn't for you I would have got a sword through my skull when we had those knights after us. You got the orbs off Warren. Without you, we'd have walked in there blind and got our butts kicked."

"Pet, you know that if I hadn't been around to translate that passage, Red would've bunged it through some translation software. And any one of the others could've done what I did in the fight. And the reason I wasn't a liability when you took on the knights that go "ni" was because back then you didn't give a toss whether I lived or died.

You said yourself this morning, that you and Dawn would both try to protect me. 'N' yeah, if we're talkin' about you takin' on half a dozen unarmed guys, I won't like it, but I'll deal. When we're talkin' about situations where there's a chance of you or Bit getting' hurt, I want you to promise me you'll let me take my own chances."

"Spike, it won't come to that. If they let us just get on with things after the whole Adam mess, they're not going to come after us now. It's not like we're a threat to National Security or any—" Buffy stopped mid-word when she noticed the way his jaw muscles were suddenly twitching. "Spike, wha— Dawn, you think they know Dawn's the Key."

Spike bowed his head, his gaze focussed on his upraised knees, his words spoken in a hushed and deathly serious tone. "I think if they knew about us when the Scoobies didn't, there's not much hope they haven't heard somebody say something about the Bit …and I think the second she ever seems to be anything more than a normal teenager they'll want to either control her or kill her… And I think you would let them kill you first."

Buffy used her free hand to grasp the vampire's chin, forcing his head round until they locked eyes. "And I know if that was what it took, that a certain pig-headed master vampire would be standing right next to me, at the very least blocking their way to her. And more than likely beating them through the pain. If we go down, we'll go down together.

And as far as we can tell it's a moot point anyway, because Dawn is a perfectly normal teenager."

"That's what we're goin' to have to hope, pet, but in Sunnyhell, what turns out how you want it to?"

"We did," answered Buffy before she pressed her lips to his, her hand moving from his chin to cup his cheek. "All we can do now is bring everyone up to speed and then wait and see. There's no point worrying over 'could happen's and 'might be's or we'll smother her." She shifted so that they rested forehead to forehead, looking straight into each other's eyes. "Capisce?"

"Capisce, love" he responded with an amused smile, before he mounted a counter attack on her mouth, that ended some minutes later with them horizontal on the bathroom floor and Spike's towel having been dislodged early in the proceedings.

"Now I know you're feeling better," teased Buffy as her eyes travelled the length of his body. "But we've got places to be and people to …meet."

"Shit. Lily." Spike made a grab for the pile of clean clothes, pulling on garments with no apparent logic other than the order that they came to hand, first a sock, then his shirt, then his jeans and finally the other sock. He pulled his belt from the loops of his discarded jeans and transferred over some odds and ends to the pockets of the clean pair, then exited the bathroom even as he fixed his belt into position. Two steps later he went back for his boots.

To be continued in chapter 6.02 


	34. Bad Moon Rising Ch 2

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

****

Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

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Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, and all mine including the upcoming sequel to this, (which won't be published on ff.net) at www.he-s-no-angel.net or 

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PREVIOUSLY: Buffy and Spike began to realise that a lot of Riley's words and actions during his last visit seemed to make an awful lot more sense if he'd been spying on them for some time. Spike became rather worried about who was doing the spying and what their reaction would be if anything "key"ish were to happen. Especially the bit where Buffy would fight to the death, anyone trying to hurt or take away her sister and he, being chipped, would be worse than useless as she would feel obliged to protect him too. Buffy managed to talk him round a bit, but the issue is probably a long way from being resolved. For now, though, all they have to worry about is having dinner with Clem's mum, who's never met Buffy, but still doesn't like her.

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SECTION 6 – BAD MOON RISING

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Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight

Well, it's bound to take your life

There's a bad moon on the rise

(Credence Clearwater Revival [written by John Fogerty], 1969)

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CHAPTER 6.02

It was a very nervous slayer who waited at the apartment door along with her sister and her fiancé. The sight of Clem's friendly face did a lot to restore her, before she realised, it might not necessarily be Clem at all. It could be a relative of some sort. It would be kinda embarrassing if she was wrong, but she didn't know how you could tell whatever type of demon Clem was apart from others of the same type. Oops, Giles would not be proud of her research skills. She'd never even asked Spike what breed of demon he was.

Spike led the way into the apartment chatting to the demon who held the door open as he moved down the hall, at least until he was distracted. "Hey, mate. D'yer mum get the message we were running a bit late?"

"Yeah, s'okay, Marie's working late anyway so we're still waiting..." The demon paused to watch as a small pink and black missile impacted with Spike's legs. "…For her," he finished off, as Spike swung the missile up into his arms.

"Unker Will. Gramma says I forgotted you, but I didn't." 

"I knew you wouldn't, pixie." Spike brushed away stray strands of jet-black hair from the little girl's face and gave her a quick peck on the end of her nose. The girl settled comfortably with a leg either side of Spike's hip and her arms round his neck, while Spike supported her with an arm under her bottom.

Spike turned around facing back toward the front door. "Rosa, I want you to meet some very special people. The lady with the flowers is Buffy. Buffy and I are going to be getting married soon, and the other lady with her is her sister Dawn. And your Uncle Will likes them both very much."

At first all the girls could see was a curtain of glossy black hair tied with a pink bow, but when the girl raised her head from where it was buried in Spike's neck they found themselves looking into the sweetest, pair of chocolate brown eyes they could imagine. Everything about the little girl, from her Barbie pink jeans and T-shirt to her white high-tops, looked hundred percent cute-as-could-be human, except for her ears, which flopped forward just like Clem's. If Xander could have seen her he might have been putting two and two together about the father of Anya's daughter in his visions.

Dawn waved at the little girl. "Hi, Rosa."

Buffy, meanwhile looked across from the child to the demon she was now fairly certain was Clem, a decision mostly based on the clothes he was wearing, her eyebrow raised. Clem, or his look-alike just shook his head, crossing and uncrossing his hands to indicate his lack of paternity.

"Hello," answered the girl before burying her face once more against Spike's neck. "They're pretty," she whispered into his ear.

"Yes, pet. All Uncle Will's girls are pretty. Let's go take them to meet your gran." Still carrying the girl on his hip he made for the main room of the apartment and once there, pushed aside an ajar door to enter the kitchen. Clem and the girls stayed back in the living room not wanting to crowd the chef.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Clem said to Buffy, preventing her from listening to the hushed conversation in the kitchen.

"Yeah, it looks that way."

Clem looked at Buffy just a little awkwardly. "Do we hug? …I mean, is this a hug type situation?"

"Yes, Clem. We hug." Passing her bouquet to Dawn temporarily, she moved forward to hold Clem around the waist as best she could with her small arms.

"So who's the little cutie in pink?" Dawn asked as Buffy extricated herself from Clem's arms.

"Rosa? She's my niece."

"I never heard you mention any brothers or sisters," responded the younger Summer's.

"Yeah, well, Rosa's dad passed away nearly two years ago now." Clem shuffled and looked uncomfortably around the room, looking at everything except Buffy. "But she's got her mom and me and her grandma to look after her. She misses him sometimes, but she's fine."

Buffy found herself trying to do a mental review of all her patrols around that time. The thing is, patrolling generally consisted of killing demons who attacked her, or who she caught attacking someone else. She thought it was unlikely that any brother of Clem's would fall into that category. What was she doing two years ago? Mom was still alive. She was in college, living in a dorm, dating Riley. The Initiative… She just knew that this little girl's father had been killed in one of Maggie Walsh's science experiments, or maybe in that final battle, trying to escape, to get back to his family. Suddenly the fact that she had _ever_ had anything to do with the Initiative made her feel like Mengele's accomplice.

"She seems to like Spike, anyway," Dawn tactfully steered the conversation away from the sensitive subject, knowing what a touchy topic loss could be.

Clem smiled his agreement. "Sure. She loves the accent. And he always reads to her. You should hear him do Billy Goats Gruff, 'course we had to tell her that trolls don't really live under bridges, or at least not all the time, but it's worth it when Spike does all the voices. Quite the Hans Christian Anderson, he is."

"Hey, Clem. How 'm I ever goin' to convince 'Bit's new boyfriend that I'm the Big Bad, if you keep tellin' her things like that she can pass on. She'll make him think I'm a right poofter." Spike was coming back out of the kitchen, still carrying his young admirer and being followed by a petite female horned demon who didn't look too much older than her son.

Dawn made a motion as if to zip her lips closed. "Your secret's safe with me. At least until I have a Bite Size or two of my own that need read to. Then we'll send for you." 

Buffy couldn't place it at first, but eventually she realised who Clem's mom reminded her of. She was smaller of course, and apparently younger and of course female and her eyes were more like Clem's, but his mother reminded her of the demon who had tried to sell the books of ascension to her and Faith. The demon Faith killed, as Buffy had later realised when she found out Faith had been working with the black-hats. 

Buffy had another bad feeling his apartment had been near the bus station, just as they were near the bus station, now. She found herself hoping he wasn't another of Clem's relations. No wonder Clem acted nervous around her.

Spike noted Buffy's discomfort, and slipped his free arm around her shoulders pulling her to his side. The gesture felt better than Buffy would ever have imagined. It announced to all the people in the room that she was his. His to love, his to support, his to hold and his to protect even from well-meaning friends who had every reason to hate her. Suddenly feeling more comfortable, Buffy transferred the flowers to one hand so she could slide the other under his duster and into the far back pocket of his jeans. She smiled as their eyes met, knowing he'd be able to read her gratitude and love in her expression as plain as if she'd said the words out loud.

"So William," said the diminutive demon, "you going to introduce us, or you going to forget you gentleman and stare all night like puppy dog?"

"I can't do both?" Spike turned to the older demon, head tilted and eyebrow raised, eliciting a small giggle from the child in his arms. "Lily, this is my fiancée, Buffy."

Buffy temporarily withdrew her hand from under Spike's coat holding it out towards her hostess. "It's very nice to meet you."

Clem's mom made a small grunting noise as if she knew that it was anything but nice for Buffy to meet her, but then took the proffered hand shaking it firmly. "Seems like you wise-up. You make him happy, that good. You treat him like dog, you make him no happy, you no more welcome here. Understand?"

Buffy gulped and nodded. "I understand. These are for you." Buffy held out the bouquet to her hostess, her nerves returning despite Spike's reassuring arm around her. Slaying demons, she could do. Interacting with demons who could read her emotions, not so good.

"Thank you." replied the woman before turning to give them to her son, requesting that he put them in a bucket with some water until she had time to find a vase.

"These are for you, too." Dawn handed over the box of chocolates she had been carrying. The demoness's face softened visibly as she turned to the younger Summers.

Spike obliged with the formal introductions. "This is Dawn, Buffy's sister. Dawn, Lily."

Dawn was surprised to find herself enveloped in a hug. "Those who are true friends to our true friends are always welcome in this house. You good for William. He go poof if you no here last year."

"Hey, less with the poof comments. I know your English is good enough to know better," Spike protested.

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too. You're very kind to have us all," Dawn responded.

"Sit. Sit." Lily pointed toward the three-piece suite occupying one end of the spacious living room. "I go watch food. Fix flowers. Clem, he stay." With that she bustled off in the direction of the kitchen again, depositing the chocolates on a side table as she left. "Marie, she Rosa's momma, be home soon. Then we eat."

Spike put his charge down on the floor when he reached the sofa, but once he had taken a seat she immediately climbed into his lap. He turned to Clem. "So, mate, did Buffy tell you why I was actually trying to ring you in the first place, or are you still in the dark."

Clem shrugged and looked at Buffy and then back to Spike. "So, what's the news?"

They were still discussing things to do with the wedding, suits and fittings when they heard a key in the front door. Rosa scrambled off Spike's knee in a mad rush for the door.

"Momma, momma. Unker Will's here with some pretty ladies."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" came the wry reply from the as yet unseen woman in the hall.

"Are you casting aspersions on my character, amiga?" Spike responded, turning in his seat to see the woman who entered the room.

"Wouldn't you have to find some first, amigo?" the woman teased. She leant over the arm of the sofa and kissed Spike on the cheek, and Dawn and Buffy caught their first glimpse of the tiny, beautiful Hispanic woman. Buffy felt distinctly underdressed in comparison to the impeccably made-up woman in her navy business suit. "I'm just going to say hi to Lily and go get changed. You can do the introductions when I get back, though I think I can guess." She blew a kiss to Clem as she turned to leave, chatting to the excited Rosa about her day with her grandma as she went.

"Your brother doesn't seem to have shared your objection to tight-skinned women, then, Clem?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, he did. It's just when you meet someone like her, looks don't matter. You can't have everything," the wrinkly demon replied, and Buffy didn't have a clue whether he was being serious or having a joke at her expense. She also wondered if he was nursing a bit of a crush on the woman himself.

"Yeah, when you meet the right one you just have to grin and bear it if she looks like Salma Hayek," Dawn made use of her best sarcastic voice. 

"Hey, Bit, can the sarcasm till you get to know the lady. Then, you can be sarcastic to her face. Till then, behave." Spike interceded on the absent woman's behalf.

Buffy began to think if Spike called Marie 'a lady' and objected to Dawn's comment, then probably Clem's remark had been no more than the truth. In which case, she really didn't feel comfortable having Lily able to compare the two of them. She wasn't even sure she liked Spike comparing the two of them.

"All the cutlery and stuff in the same place?" Spike asked rising from his chair and taking off his duster, slinging it over the back of the sofa where he'd been sitting.

"Sure," answered Clem. "I'll get the table-cloth."

Buffy and Dawn watched as without any prompting, the two men cleared away Rosa's crayons and colouring-in books and set the table ready for dinner, working around each other as if they'd done it many times before. In fact when Buffy offered to help they just waved her away saying they had things under control.

Before they had finished Marie came back into the room, carrying Rosa piggy back. This time she wore a pair of faded blue jeans, trainers and a Miami Hurricanes football top, and her once elegant coiffure was scooped up into a sloppy ponytail. Now that Buffy could see her closer up, she realised that she was probably only a year or two this side of thirty, a good seven or eight years older than the slayer.

"Hey, Spike. Ready to do the honours or should we just introduce ourselves?" Marie called over.

The vampire gave a snort. "Like I'm going to leave you lot unattended to swap secrets. 'Bout as much chance of that as there is of Clem here winning the Miss Sunnydale pageant."

Spike bustled round, rapidly finishing his share of the chore before he came back to the end of the room where the women congregated.

"Marie, Buffy, Dawn. Happy now?" he asked, looking at Marie.

"Not yet," answered the brunette. "Say, Buffy, what would you say is the most embarrassing thing you've seen Spike do?"

Spike rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen.

"Guess it must be time for Clem to dust off his swimsuit," Buffy commented dryly. "And I think I'd have to go with dating Harmony. Or getting thrown through a window for propositioning a robot. You?"

"I quite liked it that Thanksgiving when he was bouncing round tied to a chair going, 'You made a bear. You made a bear. Undo it. Undo it,'" Dawn responded, imitating the blond vamp.

"Knowing Spike, I'm not going to ask why he was tied to a chair to begin with. It would probably be unsuitable for small ears," Marie remarked.

"You think that was bad. I spent the rest of that week chained up in the watcher's bath tub with Missy feeding me through a straw," Spike complained as he brought through a casserole dish and put it on the table. Lily followed behind him carrying dishes filled with potatoes and other vegetables.

"Only because Buffy wouldn't do it," retorted Dawn. "She said he kept trying to look down her top."

"Yeah …so. I was chipped, not neutered, pet," the vampire acknowledged, going through to the kitchen. This time when he returned he was carrying a mug of steaming sanguine goodness.

"Sit, everybody. Food is ready." The family matriarch took her seat at one end of the table. As the man of the house Clem sat opposite her. Spike sat down next to a bare place setting, drawing Buffy into the seat next to him, leaving Dawn, Rosa and Marie to sit at the other side of the table. Knowing they still had to eat wherever they were going and observing that Spike wasn't eating at all, Dawn and Buffy took only sparing portions of the tuna casserole and overcooked vegetables. Buffy realised the same could be said of Clem. Was this the explanation for all the junk food he ate? Could his mother's cooking be that bad? After one mouthful she knew. It was.

Somehow Buffy made it through the meal. With everyone eating except Spike there wasn't much in the way of chatter. Buffy was glad. She felt decidedly uncomfortable whenever she was in the same room as Clem's mom. It was the same sort of uneasiness you get when confronted with a policeman. Even if you're totally innocent you feel guilty. In Buffy's case it was worse because she, Lily and Clem knew she was guilty. They had seen Spike's broken body and mutilated face. They knew that she was the monster, not Spike.

Spike forgave her before she'd even left. It was as if he felt he deserved no better. Those of her friends that she'd told forgave her because she was Buffy, they were her friends and that's what friends did. If some of them thought Spike didn't matter because he was evil and soulless then that just made it easier for them. Now for the first time she had to face up to what she'd done through the eyes of people who cared about Spike and knew he deserved better. They weren't predisposed to forgive her. To them she was Spike's abusive partner. Buffy looked into the mirror of other people's opinion and realised that if she had to put a name to the girl she saw reflected back, it wouldn't be Buffy. It would be the slayer, or maybe even Faith.

Maybe she had stared too long into the abyss, and that was who she was now. Or maybe, just maybe she could change again for the better this time. Her spirit guide had said that she was full of love, that she would only lose it if she refused it. If she let him, Spike would teach her to give her love freely. In her mind, that was the bravest thing Spike did. However often, and however much he was hurt, Spike never hid behind emotional walls and barricades. He gave of himself freely and without reserve. After Angel hurt her, she had never opened herself to that intensity of feeling again for fear it would lead once more to that same pain. 

'_Crummy time for an epiphany_', she thought, as she struggled her way through lumpy custard and super-sour rhubarb crumble. When they were sneaking around, they never seemed to have a problem finding time to be alone. Now, it seemed that there were always others around, that there were always things to be done, places to be. At the end of the night, though, he was hers and hers alone. Tonight, after they saw the others, after the Bronze, after patrol she would tell him. For now, she made do with letting her hand rest on his thigh. Cool fingers covered her own and her eyes flicked to his face, only to be trapped yet again by the love in those irresistible cobalt depths.

Buffy still didn't know how she came to find herself in love with the blond vampire. Maybe she'd already been in love with him before he cast the spell to have his will done. Maybe she fell in love with the side of him she saw under the spell. Or maybe it just fell into place as soon as she stopped guarding her feelings against him, but she did know that the look in those eyes was at least part of the reason why she fell.

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To be continued in chapter 7.01


	35. I Second That Emotion Ch 1

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True Colors

By Tales Of Spike

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Unfortunately, this is all in my head, and not literally, but it keeps me amused anyway and hopefully at least a few other people as well.

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Feedback: Yes please. That way I won't turn into a raving lunatic. You can reach me at Tales@he-s-no-angel.net.

****

Note: Thanks go out to my two betas MadRog and t_geyer. You can find all MadRog's stories at www.sunnydale-tales.com, and all mine including the upcoming sequel to this, (which won't be published on ff.net) at www.he-s-no-angel.net or 

****

PREVIOUSLY: Buffy, Spike and Dawn had tea with Clem's family. Buffy got to have a look at herself from a different viewpoint and ultimately didn't like what she saw. She decided that if anyone could help her change, it was Spike but before she can tell him about this she's got to bring the Scoobies up to date on the being spied on theory, patrol, intimidate Dawn's spanking new boyfriend and see Janice and her little sis home. Then she might get Spike to herself for five minutes without minor irritations like fist fights or Xander getting in the way.

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SECTION 7 – I SECOND THAT EMOTION

Maybe you think that love would tie you down

You ain't got the time to hang around

Maybe you think that love was made for fools

So it makes you wise to break the rules

Oh little girl, in that case I don't want no part

That would only break my heart

Oh, but if you feel like loving me

If you got the notion

I second that emotion

Said, if you feel like giving me

A lifetime of devotion

I second that emotion

(Japan [written by Smokey Robinson and Arthur Cleveland])

CHAPTER 7.01

The rest of the night was just so many hours to go through until they could be alone. In the end Spike disregarded all the bookings he'd made and drove them to an out of the way roadhouse that did bar meals and was mostly patronised by bikers. And if Xander felt out of place, then it was a good bet none of Riley's cohorts could walk in unnoticed either. The food was good and for those who partook the beer was better.

The gang took it much as expected when they found out that they could be under surveillance. Willow and Tara volunteered to research all means magical and electronic to find any listening devices or cameras that might be hidden too subtly for the human or vampire eye. Xander floundered in denial and Anya said that if she found they were selling any tapes she wanted royalties. Dawn was distressed but stoically brave when she found out the government could be aware of her secret identity. She promised that if anything key-related occurred Buffy and Spike would be first to know, away from the house and any potential listening devices. Just in case, the group agreed, no more Key comments, monk comments or anything that could lead them to investigate Dawn's background, if somehow they didn't already know.

Spike got volunteered to drive Buffy, Dawn and the witches to LA the following morning, so that they could choose the bridesmaid's dresses, and he booked rooms for them all at the same motel again, so they could leave it till Sunday night to drive back. Xander announced that he'd finished the plans for the basement and submitted them to city hall for planning permission. Willow said Spike's computer was up and running and just needed to be moved to the flat. 

Funnily enough, once they found out about Dawn's date, the rest of the gang also decided to swing by the Bronze, just for a drink or two. This, reasoned Buffy, meant she and Spike could swing a quick patrol while Dawn was under the watchful gaze of the other adults, giving Dawn the illusion of more privacy and her and Spike more time alone later. Even more surprisingly, Spike agreed without protest, though he insisted if they weren't back by the time the others left Dawn and Janice had to leave with them.

It was latish by the time they arrived at the Bronze. From her black looks, so like her sister's, Spike judged that the guy in the corner talking to the two girls, was the gentleman Dawn had been hoping to see. Spike eavesdropped on enough of the conversation to be able to tell it was the girls who were on the hunt, not the guy and he decided to let her know before she caused a scene.

"Better go rescue him, Bit, before he has to resort to harsh language. Those two don't seem to take the hint. We'll be up on the balcony when you're ready to do the introductions. Don't make us wait too long."

So, while the others headed for the bar and Dawn went to get her man, Buffy found herself back on that familiar balcony.

Buffy wasn't angry at him per se, but she was ready to be if he didn't have a good reason for bringing her here. "Why here? We're not…"

"No, pet, we're not. I'm just hoping we're going to be in and out too quick for it to be worth getting a drink. We're too late to get a table without threatening someone. I didn't want to say we'd be on the dance-floor, 'cause then we'd be stuck there whatever crap they play. And from up here we can play spot the vamp, and keep an unobtrusive eye on Bit till we leave. And maybe I can get you to tell me what was causing all the frown lines back at Lily's."

"Am I that easy to read?" Buffy asked.

"Only to me," answered her peroxided paramour, as he drew her into his arms for a gentle kiss, deliberately keeping both hands on her back above the waist in case teenaged eyes were watching.

"Tonight, back at your place, we'll open that bottle of champagne and I'll tell all," Buffy promised. "Of course it could just be indigestion, which I notice you managed to completely avoid."

"Not my fault if everybody knows vampires don't eat." Spike's eyes narrowed as he looked at something over Buffy's shoulder.

"What's with the look. We got business?" Buffy asked.

"No, just that Bit's bloke moves like he knows how to fight, and until I know he's going to be using that to look after her, I'm not sure I like it. I'd rather be sure if it came to a fight she'd win."

"I'll buy her some pepper spray or mace, whatever. She can look after herself better than most kids her age anyway. She'll be fine. Just try to be nice." Taking Spike's arm she turned him to face the stairs as her sister's head came into view. 

Dawn chatted as she came upstairs, hand in hand with the new man in her life. "Spike's cool, most of the time, but he can be a bit over-protective. He'll probably act like a jackass until he trusts you, but as long as you aren't looking to use me and then dump me, you should live." That should do it, Dawn thought, knowing her ploy could work one of two ways. Either Spike would go into total asshole mode, in which case Brandon had been warned, or he'd do the opposite and try to prove her wrong, which would suit her just fine. Judging by the smirk on his face it was going to be the former.

Maybe Buffy spotted the warning signs because she stepped in front of the vamp ensuring she would be first to greet the newcomer. "Hi. I'm Dawn's sister, Buffy, and this is my fiancé, Spike. It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Mentally, Buffy was berating herself for Spike's influence on her sister. The look was more Goth than Billy Idol, and the black T-shirt had a design printed on in white, a cartoon of a goth looking girl in a vest wearing an ankh against a checkerboard background. However, the tight black jeans, the boots (in this case New Rocks) and the black nail polish were pure Spike, even if he only had a biker's leather jacket, currently carried not worn, rather than a full length duster. His hair was short and she thought it was naturally dark, but spiked with coloured gel that made it reflect ultramarine when the light caught it. The difference in their respective heel sizes made him look only an inch or so taller than Dawn, but they were probably both still growing. He wasn't broad or imposing like some football players Buffy remembered from high school, but from what she could see of his arms Buffy would bet Spike was right. He was muscled like a dancer or a martial artist and she didn't know many fifteen-year-old boys (wait, he drove, must be sixteen) that keen on dancing. He certainly didn't look like he'd be auditioning for any boy bands soon. Though, Dawn was right. The guy was definitely a cutie, green eyes and a sweet smile.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, too." He held his hand out toward Buffy and after shaking hands with her to Spike. To Dawn's surprise Spike didn't make a point of crushing his hand. He didn't make any obnoxious comments or anything, just said, "pleasure," and then lit up one of his illegal cigarettes.

"Did Dawn mention we'd like you to come over for dinner on Tuesday?" Buffy asked. 

"Give me a chance. We only got here five minutes ago," Dawn protested.

"Don't worry, mate. 'S just Buffy's responsible for Dawn, so we like to know the people she hangs around with. That's all. We're not going to tie you to a chair and force you to eat Buffy's cooking." Spike dodged the half-hearted slap that accompanied Buffy's, "hey."

"And these are meant to be my role-models," said Dawn. "Can we go now?"

"Where's Janice? I thought she was joining you this evening," Spike queried.

"Her mom's dropping her off at half past. She didn't want to get here early and have to hang round on her own. Now can we go?"

"Yeah. Don't do anything you've been told not to do. If you need anything before we get back, see one of the guys or ring Spike's mobile, and we'll see you nearer curfew," Buffy replied following the pair downstairs, with Spike on her heels. They had a quick word with the others before they left and then headed for the cemeteries.

Buffy was the first to break the silence as they walked. "You were remarkably civil, there."

"And what?" Spike pouted. "You thought I was going to threaten to kill him if he hurt her or something. Contrary to popular belief those words do not come out of everyone's mouth any time a Summers starts dating someone. 'S not like I could lay a finger on him anyway. You would be the one beatin' him up, pet. Or not, since you didn't even give that Parker git the hidin' he deserved."

"Just thought you might have felt compelled to say something as the man of the house," Buffy retorted.

"You made it perfectly clear that I shouldn't overstep the big-brother mark. Besides, you think I'm stupid enough to do the warning in front of Bit. He'll get it at least twice tonight off Harris and Red anyway. I thought since she won't actually be leaving with him tonight I'd cut him some slack." Spike smirked. "At least until Tuesday."

"So, you're all chummy and I get to look like the evil one. Gee thanks, Spikey."

"You said to try to be nice. I was nice."

"My point exactly, since when do you do what I ask you to do."

Spike's gaze turned into a leer, and he practically purred his response. "I can think of quite a few times in the not too dim and distant, sweetness."

"Pig," retorted the slayer as her cheeks flushed bright red despite the rush of blood to other areas, lengthening her stride to leave Spike behind.

Spike just grinned and appreciated the view she presented to him, adjusting his own pace to stay a few yards behind her. At this speed they would do the rounds and be back at the Bronze in less than an hour, which suited him just fine.

Without the three stooges sticking their oar in, or summoning up weird and unusual demons for them to play with patrol was actually verging on boring. As far as the demon population went it was only the freshly risen and terminally stupid who didn't know better than to cross paths with the two blondes these days. Spike's guess was that it would stay that way until some out of towner showed up and tried to crown himself the new Big Bad. Somehow, that always seemed to be about autumn. No one seemed to want to move to Sunnydale in the summer, not that he could blame them. If it wasn't for the whole lack of circulation thing Spike knew he'd find it too damn hot. So maybe they would get a couple of months peace and quiet to get Bit half-way trained up before the next crisis hit, if they were lucky, assuming the tin soldier stayed away.

At the Bronze, they seemed to have made progress over the last week. Xander didn't let his mouth hang open when they snogged or danced any more, and they went the whole night without anyone having to jump down his throat and tell him to get over himself. Bit and her beau behaved themselves in a nervously cute, teenage kind of way, though Spike suddenly found himself almost rooting for Angel's son. At least he was one hundred percent certain that he didn't have any connection with the Initiative. Hard as it was though, he'd give the boy a chance but if Niblet shed a single unhappy tear over him, somehow the boy would be history.

Finally, it was time for them to go, and their elders watched with varying degrees of approval as the kid tentatively kissed Dawn on the cheek, only to have her plant an open-mouthed smacker on his lips, that had Spike all but growling. He scowled his disapproval all the way to Janice's house, warning Dawn to be ready early for the trip to LA.

And then they were on their own, just Spike and Buffy. 

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To be continued in chapter 7.02


	36. I Second That Emotion Ch 2

True Colors by TalesOfSpike 

Okay, this is one of those chapter ff.net doesn't like, so if you want to read it then go to one of the following addresses. Unfortunately whenever I type in the addresses in the proper format for you to just copy and paste them into your browser the ff computer strips them out when I upload the document, so I'm afraid you're going to need to type them in with none of the spaces I've had to add to get them to come up, and remember that the document part of the address will be case sensitive.

The normal version is at http : / / www . he-s-no-angel . net / TrCo 07 - 02 . htm

The text only version is at http : / / www . he-s-no-angel . net / txTrCo 07-02 . htm

The sequel, Ring of Fire, is ongoing and as at this time the first eight chapters are up at both the He's No Angel site and The Crypt. 

I have, however, decided not to continue posting any further material on ff.net. The concluding chapters on this and my other story Grosse Pointe Buff have been added as a block, purely for completeness. If you like the story enough to want to see what happens next then you can follow it at either of the two sites I've mentioned. If you don't like checking for updates, you can join the mailing list for the He's No Angel site and you will receive an e-mail every time a new chapter is posted. I'm aiming for a couple of chapters a week, once things get rolling, though of course there will be weeks where RL gets in the way.

For those of you who've read this far, but won't be following the sequel on these other sites I thank you for your time. I'm sorry to see you "go", but I hope you understand my decision. If you look at the reviews for the end of January on both this story, (bear in mind the reviews go up to Ch 26 but two chapters were posted after that to zero response except for Chris's review) and Grosse Pointe Buff you'll get an idea why I've decided that, in combination with the inconvenience of the NC-17 ban, ff's bad points outweigh the good. 


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